JOSHUA PLUNKETT, PREDATORY OFFENDER IN LONDON, SENTENCED TO OVER 14 YEARS
A dangerous and predatory offender who targeted teenage girls and subjected them to sexual and physical assault has been sentenced to prison.Joshua Plunkett, 25 (born 27 November 1995), of Reginald Road, Lewisham, was handed a sentence of 14 and a half years at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday, 18 November.
He is required to serve at least eight and a half years behind bars, with the remaining portion to be served on licence.
Additionally, Plunkett received a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be registered on the Sex Offenders Register.
He was convicted at the same court on Friday, 17 September, on multiple charges including possession of a prohibited image, sexual communications with a child, controlling coercive behavior, disclosing private photographs, causing actual bodily harm, two counts of sexual activity with a child, perverting the course of justice, causing a child to watch a sexual act, breach of a Sexual Risk Order, and failure to comply with section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
The court heard that Plunkett targeted five teenage girls aged between 13 and 18, from 2016 to 2020.
After befriending these victims online, he exercised coercive control and inflicted physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.
Several victims reported that he used 'strangle holds' during his assaults.
He broke one victim's finger and bit her so forcefully that a complete impression of his mouth was left on her skin.
Plunkett used coercive tactics to dominate vulnerable victims and would publish graphic images of them online as a form of punishment and humiliation if they upset him or attempted to sever contact.
Even after his arrest and charging, he continued to intimidate at least one victim while on remand, trying to prevent her from cooperating with authorities.
His offending began in 2016, when he was 20 years old, with an online conversation with [Victim 1], then 15.
As the relationship progressed, he pressured her into sending explicit photos after initially being refused.
In July 2017, he started chatting with [Victim 2], then 13, who had lied about her age.
Despite her claims of being 14, Plunkett sent her numerous sexual messages.
Victim 3 first connected with Plunkett through Facebook when she was 15; they started messaging and later met in March 2018 when she was 18.
As their relationship developed, Plunkett demanded access to her social media accounts.
When she refused in May 2018, he assaulted her by grabbing her around the neck and strangling her, doing so again three weeks later.
He ended the relationship in June 2018.
Following the breakup, Plunkett accessed her social media accounts, posted explicit images and videos of their encounters to her friends and family, damaging her modeling career and self-esteem.
In 2018, Plunkett met [Victim 4], then 15, with whom he had sexual relations.
In September 2018, during a play fight, he forcibly tried to snap her finger, resulting in a suspected break.
While in custody in December 2018, Plunkett manipulated the victim, convincing her that her police interview statements caused his continued detention.
Over the following weeks, he tried to persuade her to retract her account of their sexual relationship.
She initially withdrew her statement but later recounted the full extent of his abuse in June 2020.
In January 2020, after being released on bail, Plunkett unlawfully entered [Victim 4]'s home, claiming he thought he had taken her keys earlier.
Breaching a Sexual Risk Order, he assaulted her physically—punching her repeatedly and kicking her, causing a cut to her forehead that bled heavily.
He also pulled her hair, dragged her to the floor, and took her mobile phone and bank card before fleeing.
Her 12-year-old sister witnessed the attack.
Plunkett also contacted [Victim 5] via Snapchat in September 2019, falsely claiming he was 16, while in fact he was nearly 24.
He shared explicit videos, including one of himself engaged in sexual activity, prompting her to block him.
In the summer of 2020, while on remand, he attempted to contact her again by falsely claiming she was his cousin to prison authorities, breaching the Sexual Risk Order once more.
The investigation into Plunkett began in September 2018, leading to his first arrest in November of that year and subsequent arrests in 2018 and 2019.
The complex inquiry involved five victims and dating back to 2016.
Over eight months, detectives from the Met’s Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation Team worked extensively with victims to uncover the full scope of his offending.
Detective Constable Natalie Franklin, leading the investigation, stated: “Plunkett is a cruel monster who preyed on young teenage girls.
He would make their lives a living nightmare for his own twisted pleasure by abusing them with sexual, physical and emotional violence.
He is the personification of violence against women.
Even when he was on remand awaiting trial, he exercised his control by intimidating one of his victims and making her so fearful she withdrew her statement.” She added, “This was a complex investigation involving hundreds of hours of inquiries, but we worked tirelessly to ensure that Plunkett was brought to justice so he could not harm or control any more young girls.
I want to praise the bravery of the victims who came forward and provided evidence, which was not easy for them, but ultimately allowed us to secure a strong case against him and see justice served.”
