Paedophile guilty of blackmailing girl, 14

JAILED . . . Daniel Croston

Shaw man tried to force teenager into pornography

A SHAW man who groomed a teenage girl over the Internet and threatened to send indecent images of her to paedophiles when she rebuffed his advances has been jailed.

Daniel Saul Croston (32), of Dunwood Park Close, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to blackmail, causing or inciting a child into pornography and possession of indecent images.
He was yesterday sentenced to a total of 32 months in prison at Minshull Street Crown Court.

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register and made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

Croston met his victim in May, 2007, when she was aged 14.

The pair made contact on Internet chat rooms, where Croston claimed he was aged 19.

The pair exchanged mobile phone numbers and started texting.

Croston asked her to send pictures of herself in her underwear and threatened to post her mobile phone number on the Internet if she did not do it.

When she sent him an indecent picture, Croston revealed he was in fact 28. He then told her to send an indecent video of herself, which she refused.

On June 6, 2007, he threatened her, claiming that if she did not send the video by 9pm that evening he would send the indecent photograph to “every pervert and paedophile” on the Internet as well as her school.

Distraught, the victim told her mum who called police.

Officers from Greater Manchester Police used Croston’s mobile phone number to track him to his home, where he was arrested.

A mobile phone was seized and more than 60 indecent images were found.

Det Con Simon Hurdley said: “Croston is a calculating, manipulative and cowardly individual who groomed his victim by deliberately lying about his age on the Internet and once he had her under his spell he revealed his true colours.

“If that was not bad enough, Croston showed just what a disgusting human being he is by blackmailing his victim and threatening to send indecent images of her to other sex offenders if she did not comply with his heinous demands.

“The distress this whole episode has caused the victim is immeasurable.

“She thought she was innocently chatting to someone of a roughly similar age, only to find herself being blackmailed and put through a traumatic ordeal by this man.

“He is the sort of individual who does not deserve his freedom and is thankfully behind bars where he can no longer hurt anyone else.”