Snapchat predator messaged young boy to ask for sex

A Snapchat predator who messaged a young boy to ask for sex has been jailed. Midlands man Jack Box was arrested when the brave victim told an adult what had happened.

Box had messaged the boy on the app to ask what he looked like. The 22-year-old then sent further messages to the youngster and asked him for sex.

The boy blocked Box’s account and then told someone about the messages on December 2, 2022 Indecent images of children were found on Box's phone when it was seized following his arrest.

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Box, of Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to two-and-a-half-years in prison at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on October 30, after he previously admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child and distributing an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child. He was also put on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

DC Gillian Allen from Staffordshire Police, who dealt with the case, said: “I’d like to recognise the bravery shown by the boy to tell someone about Box and to help support this conviction through the court process. It’s absolutely crucial that sex offenders who use social media to approach, groom and abuse their victims are brought to justice, and this can only be done if survivors feel they’re able to come forward in confidence in these circumstances.”