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Teenager Jailed for Eight Years for Online Grooming and Blackmail of 37 Children

The case followed a CPS–police investigation into a two-year online grooming campaign targeting 37 children.

Overview

  • Cardiff Crown Court sentenced Cory Jones, 19, to eight years' detention in a young offenders institution, with release after serving two thirds.
  • Jones must register as a sex offender for life and is subject to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order.
  • Prosecutors said he contacted 37 children aged 10–16 on social media, used aliases, sent sexual material, and blackmailed those who refused further images.
  • He pleaded guilty to 69 offences committed between September 2022 and November 2024, and police recovered 172 indecent images of children from his phone.
  • Victim statements described lasting emotional harm, and authorities cited a complex joint investigation by the CPS and South Wales Police.