A court in the United Kingdom has jailed one Taiwo Benson for an additional two years for attempting to groom 500 underage girls for sex.
Described as “dangerous and manipulative”, prosecutors said Benson had over 1,400 conversations with the girls online and by phone.
Benson, 46, pleaded guilty to eleven further sex crimes, including four counts of penetrative activity with a girl under 16, which were brought to light as part of a two-year police investigation, the Daily Mail UK reports.
The paedophile, who is already serving a nine-year prison sentence at HMP Littlehey for similar offences against four underage victims aged between 13 and 15, will have the new sentence added to his existing jail term.
He was sentenced for the previous offence in April 2016.
But following his imprisonment, Scotland Yard found two phones belonging to him which revealed 1,435 conversations with other potential victims across various social media sites.
He was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty on 23 November 2018 to:
- one count of causing a child aged 13 to 15 to watch an image of sexual activity,
- two counts of an adult meeting a girl under 16 following sexual grooming,
- two counts of causing a child 13 to 15 to watch a sexual act,
- four counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15,
- one count of an offender over 18 causing a child 13 to 15 to watch a sexual act,
- and one count of offender 18 or over engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15.
According to DailyMail, the disgusting array of crimes took place over the course of 2015, against nine victims.
The online magazine wrote:
The two year term he was handed on Friday has been added on to to his existing jail term.
The court heard how how Scotland Yard detectives from the Met’s Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command (CASO) retrieved two mobile phones belonging to him, which revealed the startling list of conversation threads.
The team spent more two years processing the evidence, travelling across the country and trying to contact the more than 500 girls they believed Benson had spoken to.
He used pseudonyms including The Real MVP, Tony and Timi on apps including WhatsApp, Facebook, Viber and BBM (blackberry messaging).
Benson groomed the girls, and the evidence indicated he had engaged in sexual intercourse with some of the victims.
After making contact with his victims, he attempted to initiate a meeting for sex and requested images of them. He offered a range of goods, but primarily money to encourage them to meet with him. He remained undeterred when victims told him their young ages.
Detective Inspector Laura Hillier, who led the investigation, said:
‘Benson is a very dangerous and manipulative man. He has spent years targeting young girls on the internet for his own gratification.
‘Many potential victims were spoken to by officers. I would like to commend the victims who came forward and bravely told officers how Benson groomed and committed offences against them.
‘It is my hope that today’s sentence brings a measure of comfort and satisfaction to the vulnerable young girls that he preyed upon.
‘The internet is increasingly being used by offenders like Benson to target young victims, and this is something the Met is gearing its safeguarding efforts towards.
‘Engaging with someone online is not the same as having just met them in person, but young people will often be more open to people who seem friendly or project a certain image of themselves online without thinking about what that person’s intentions might be, or even whether they are who they say they are.
‘We would encourage parents to talk to their children about the risks of speaking to people online, and how to stay safe on the internet.’
