December 2014 Pervert sent sinister messages to young boys on Facebook A TEENAGER used “emotional blackmail” to get under-age boys to send him explicit photographs of themselves to him over Facebook. Nathan Ainsworth befriended the boys on-line and, once he had gained their trust, talked them into sending the pictures. Once he had received the images, he threatened the two teenage boys that if they did not send him more he would post them for all to see on social media. A court heard how the now 18-year-old was snared when a friend of the youngest victim saw some of the Facebook messages and talked him into going to the police. In victim impact statements read out in court, the youngest victim told how he felt “degraded, angry and felt he had ruined his own life”. The other victim said he would “physically shake” when he saw Ainsworth out and would “constantly check his messages” to see if Ainsworth had carried out his threats to put them online. Grace Hale, prosecuting, told Derby Crown Court, sitting at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court: “In her statement, the mother of the younger victim said ‘this has caused devastation, not just to my son but to the whole family’. “She says her son is no longer the happy, carefree child he was. She says he now suffers from anger issues and that she suffers anxiety and depression because of what the defendant did to her son.” A court order means the victims cannot be identified but Ainsworth, of Tower Close, Somercotes, can be because he has turned 18. Miss Hale said the offending started in 2012 when Ainsworth communicated with the youngest victim first over Blackberry Messenger and then over Facebook. She said he gained their trust and talked them into sending messages, saying he would delete them but then he would send other messages saying he had kept them and if they didn’t send him more he would put them all over Facebook. It was emotional blackmail. “He sent the youngest victim messages saying ‘the things I can do are endless, I can do whatever I want’.” Ainsworth was arrested after the youngest victim gave a statement to police through the help of a friend. He pleaded guilty to six sexual offence charges, including inciting children to indulge in sexual acts and making indecent photographs. Clive Stockwell, for Ainsworth, said: “He suffered quite chronic bullying himself for years which lead to him becoming isolated and he withdrew to his computer and he spent too much time on social networking.” Recorder David Mason QC handed Ainsworth a sexual offences prevention order until further notice and gave him a three-year youth referral order