February 2016 Teenager messaged 20 under-age girls including a 13-year-old A teenager messaged 20 under-age girls – one as young as 13 – asking for sexually explicit photos and then blackmailed one girl to send him more, a court was told. Kieran Canham, 19 of Hudson Road, Cambourne, pleaded guilty to three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court. Michael Procter, prosecuting, said Canham messaged a 13-year-old girl on social media asking her to send sexually explicit photos of herself to him on October 10, 2014. A second girl, also underage, was messaged via social media between November 15-18, 2014. The girl sent him naked photos of herself but Canham then blackmailed her to send more, the court was told. Canham, who has no previous convictions, went through with his blackmail threat and sent the photos of the under-age girl to her friends on Facebook. Mr Procter added that as a result, the young girl said she was now scared to go out for fear of being asked questions about the photos. The 13-year-old girl also sent photos to Canham, but admitted she shouldn’t have done so given her age. Mr Procter added: “Police looked at Canham’s phone, which showed he had been in contact with the girls. “Between May 31, 2014 and January 7, 2015, Canham had sent sexually explicit messages to 20 girls under 18. “Only two girls actually sent photos of themselves to him, including the 13-year-old girl. “In police interview, the defendant admitted what he had done and said he had restricted internet access to pornography at home.” Melanie Benn, mitigating, said Canham was a socially isolated young man who lived with his parents, four brothers and one sister. She added: “He is the eldest and provides financially for his family. “The internet was a place where he felt he had his own personal space in his own home. He said he felt more comfortable in this social setting where the girls were physically younger than him but at the same emotional level.” Canham said there was an expectation of ‘sexting’ at school but he realised what he was doing was wrong and came off social media as a result, the court was told. Recorder Guy Ayers handed Canham 15 months in a young offender institution and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also issued. He was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.