Bodycam video shows moment paedophile who used TikTok to prey on young girls is arrested

Stephen Blackwell, 46, posed as a 17-year-old boy on the social networking site to target girls as young as 10. He claimed he lived in London and bombarded one victim with photos and videos and asked her to send him images in return.

Blackwell was caught when the girl’s mum found the messages on her phone and contacted police. Police bodycam shows the moment Blackwell was at his home in Matlock, Derbyshire.

He was released on bail but carried on targeting young girls on TikTok by messaging accounts he believed belonged to aged 14. However, these accounts were all decoy accounts run by an online child activist group who recorded his messages as evidence.

Blackwell sent numerous videos showing him performing sex acts on himself, and also asked the girls to carry out acts on themselves.

He was charged with five offences, including engaging in sexual communication with a child and causing a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity. He denied the offences but was found guilty after a trial at Derby Crown Court.

He was jailed for 11 years and three months and handed an extended sentence on August 16. Blackwell was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the sex offenders register.

Temporary Detective Constable Samantha Bramley and Detective Constable Sarah North, who led the investigation, said: “Blackwell’s behaviour in persistently seeking sexual gratification from children and the fact he continued to offend despite being on bail shows what a dangerous individual he is.

“He has shown no regard for the law and by denying these offences he has also shown that he has no real grasp that what he was doing was wrong. “There is no doubt that he would have continued to commit offences if he had not been sent to prison. “It is pleasing therefore that he is now behind bars and the judge acknowledged the threat he poses by imposing an extended sentence of imprisonment.”