Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Saturday 15th February 2025, at 18:00hrs
He targeted children through social media pretending to be younger than he is
A convicted paedophile who continued his sordid behaviour despite already being on the sex offenders register has been jailed.
He targeted children on social media apps like Snapchat and various chat rooms sending sexual explicit communications to them and asking them to send naked photos of themselves, and if they didn’t he would make threats to harm himself.
In a statement released after sentencing, North Yorkshire Police said:
“Oliver James Anglesmith, 37, currently remanded in prison, pleaded guilty to four counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child during May 2024, and one charge of failing to comply with the notification requirements under the Sex Offenders Register.
He appeared at York Crown Court on 14 February 2025 where he was sentenced to four years and four months in jail. He was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further order. This means that restrictions will be imposed on him relating to his use of the internet and devices such as mobile phones and computers.
The investigation was able to show that Anglesmith deliberately targeted children’s chatrooms and SnapChat posing as a young person. He was arrested after police received a call from the concerned parents of a child in another part of the country who had been targeted by him.
As the investigation progressed, North Yorkshire Police’s Victim Identification Unit were able to identify several other children who were from various parts of the UK.
Thankfully some of the children saw though him and his lewd conversations and did not engage with him. But he managed to persuade some to send naked and sexualised images to him. If they refused he threatened to harm himself.
In police interviews he claimed that the victims had told him they were 16, but no evidence of that was found.
He breached his Sex Offenders Register notification requirements by failing to register a mobile phone with the police.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Steve Monty of Scarborough’s Safeguarding Investigation Team, said: “Anglesmith was particularly manipulative and used emotional blackmail in an attempt to trick the children into sending sexual images of themselves.
“He made up a fictitious emotional story to gain their initial attention and befriend them, then threatened to cause serious harm to himself if they refused to do what he asked. He is an online predator who is now rightfully back behind bars.
“My thanks go to the vigilant parents who reported the abuse of their children and to our Victim Identification Unit who identified victims from all parts of the UK.”
G2K INCIDENT WATCH 