George Michael Casson – York

Online child groomer sentenced at York Crown Court ⬇️

George Michael Casson, 30, from Moor Monkton, a village near York, pretended to be a 16-year-old boy when he engaged in sexual communication with a 15-year-old girl from Buckinghamshire

He was jailed for 19 months after pleading guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child.

Casson appeared at York Crown Court on Tuesday 23 December 2025 where he was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register and issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing on 7 November at York Magistrates’ Court just before he was due to stand trial.

The sexual communication occurred between 31 January and 31 March 2022 when he befriended the girl on the Litmatch social community app.

Not only did Casson pretend to be a 16-year-old boy called ‘Ty’ using a fake profile to gain the girl’s trust, he then used two other fake profiles acting as Ty’s brother and another person who was a “gang member”.

During this time, the girl was engaged in sexual conversation and repeatedly pressured to send indecent images of herself. Threats were made to share the images with her family and her school if she refused to send more to Casson.

Thankfully, the victim’s parents noticed she had become withdrawn and were able to intervene when they saw the disturbing messages.

They reported the matter to their local police, and the suspect was traced to North Yorkshire.

Detective Constable Bradley Bodfield, who led the investigation, said: “Casson denied being responsible for sending the messages until the day of the trial when he changed his plea to guilty.

“He also failed to attend the initial trial date on 7 August this year and was circulated as wanted on warrant.

“He went on the run and evaded the police for over a month and was subsequently arrested by Kent Police on 17 September.

“Casson has shown not a shred of remorse for his disturbing actions and the terrible effect he has had on the victim.

“I really hope this outcome provides her with strength to rebuild her life.”

How to recognise sextortion ⬇️

Criminals often target people through dating apps, social media, webcams, or pornography sites. They may use a fake identity to befriend you online. If a person you have just met online chats to you in a sexual way, or asks for sexual images, it might be an attempt at sextortion.

You should be wary if someone you’ve met online:

• is trying to start a relationship with you very quickly (they may even send you a sexual image first)
• chats to you in a sexual way, or asks for sexual images, soon after you’ve met them.
• has sent friend requests to lots of people, not just you.
• repeatedly asks you to do sexual things that you’re not comfortable with
• tells you they’ve hacked your account or have access to your contacts.

Sextortion attempts can happen very quickly, or they can happen over a long time. You should never share sexual images or information about yourself if you are not comfortable.

You can still be a victim of sextortion if you haven’t shared sexual images or information. Criminals may have hacked one of your accounts, or created edited or fake images or videos, like deepfakes, of you that appear real.

Protecting yourself ⬇️

You should stop engaging with the individual if you feel uncomfortable, or if someone contacts you online who you don’t know.

You can also review your privacy settings. Criminals are less likely to target you if they can’t see who your friends and family are.
Report it.

If you are a victim of sextortion, or you are worried you are being targeted, it’s never your fault, you are not to blame and have done nothing wrong.
We understand that it might be difficult to report this type of crime to us, but there’s help available and we’re here to listen and support you in any way we can.

Is it an emergency?

Dial 999 if there is an immediate danger to life or someone is using violence or is threatening to be violent.
You can report these crimes online or call us on 101.

If you are under 18, you can report sextortion, or any other form of online child sexual abuse, to the National Crime Agency’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Safety Centre.
Your report will be sent direct to our control room where it will be reviewed by the same team who answer our calls.

Visit a police station
If you would prefer to speak to an officer in person, we can provide a safe and comfortable environment at any of our police stations.
If you need a translator, we can provide someone by phone to start with and later in person.

Before you report⬇️

Stop all communication with the offender immediately. You should also never pay, as there is no guarantee that this will stop the threats.

If you want to get your account removed, deactivate it rather than delete it. This will make it easier for us to find evidence.

You do not have to gather ‘evidence’ like screenshots, text messages, videos or photos before you report to us. All you need to do when you report is tell us what happened.

If you have any screenshots, text messages, videos or photos, details like these can be useful to us. It is also helpful if you can put these details in a timeline.

Even if the photo or video is no longer available, you should still report it to us. We may be able to recover the image.

Useful information if you have it⬇️

• sender’s name
• contact details, including email addresses and phone numbers.
• usernames
• bank account details.
• user IDs
• which platform, app, social media site, or online space you were using
• when it happened
• details of what was sent, written, or spoken in a voice note or video.

You should only screenshot an intimate image if you are sure the person is over 18. If you are unsure, don’t screenshot, record, or share it with anyone, even the police. It could be a criminal offence.

Further support for children and young people under 18 ⬇️

Report Remove allows you to confidentially report sexual images and videos of yourself and get them removed from the internet.

Childline gives free, confidential support for young people under the age of 19.

Young Minds is a mental health charity for children and young people with 24 hours a day, seven days a week text support.

Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command (CEOP) Education gives advice for parents, children, and young people on staying safe from sexual abuse and online grooming.