A member of "The Com," a loose-knit online cybercrime collective that targets children and teenagers, has been sentenced to two years in prison for blackmail and sextortion offenses against nearly 120 victims worldwide.
20-year-old Justin Swaddle from Leeds (known as 'Epstein', 'Rugen' and 'Moscow' on Snapchat, Telegram, and Discord) was first arrested in October 2023 by West Yorkshire Police.
Swaddle was sentenced today after pleading guilty to multiple child sexual abuse offenses and blackmail at Leeds Crown Court on July 2. He will also be added to the National Sex Offenders Register and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
"Justin Swaddle targeted young and vulnerable victims all over the world to abuse and scare them into carrying out shocking self-harm and sexual activity, purely to gain popularity with his peers online," said NCA operations manager Danielle Pownall.
"He gained the trust of his victims, before collecting private information about them so he could threaten to share their intimate images or report them to their school or parents to incite further content.
