September 2012 Sheffield predator preyed on schoolgirls A PAEDOPHILE forced young girls to send him degrading pictures of themselves over the internet and threatened to kill one of his victims if she didn’t meet his demands, a court heard. Daniel Elms, aged 37, contacted girls across the country from his home on Floodgate Drive, Ecclesfield, sending them instant messages on his computer. Sheffield Crown Court heard Elms – a supermarket shelf-stacker who spent all of his spare money on prostitutes – used false names and pretended to be a teenager. He threatened to share the pictures the girls provided with their family and friends, and chillingly told a 12-year-old he would leave her ‘dead in the woods’. Following his arrest, a hoard of sick images of child abuse were found on Elms’s laptop, including 37 at the most serious level. Judge Roger Keen QC, who jailed Elms for eight years, said he was a ‘persistent, predatory, pestering paedophile’. “You used persuasion, blackmail, corruption and threats in the most callous of ways to achieve sexual satisfaction,” Judge Keen added. Fiona Swain, prosecuting, said Elms contacted the 12-year-old, who lived in Humberside, in 2007 on the MSN website. “She spoke to him two or three times before he started to threaten her, saying if she didn’t do as she was told he would find her and kill her,” Ms Swain said. The schoolgirl sent Elms an indecent picture around three days later after his threats continued. Elms’s second victim, a 13-year-old from the Midlands, was contacted in 2009, and sent the paedophile at least 20 images as well as posing on awebcam. A year later, the predator targeted a 14-year-old girl in Scotland. The victim’s stepfather told police and Elms was arrested. Elms made no comment in interview and, while on bail, contacted the Midlands girl again, repeating his threats to share her pictures. Christopher Tonge, defending, said Elms was ‘deeply ashamed’ and found speaking to women difficult. Elms, who had no previous convictions, admitted inciting a child to become involved in pornography and sexual activity, threats to kill, making indecent images of children and distributing them. He was banned from contacting children and will have to register with the police for the rest of his life.