September 2013 Justin Bieber imposter Robert Hunter jailed over child sex videos A Middlesbrough man who pretended to be pop singer Justin Bieber to trick children into sending him sex act videos has been jailed for 14 years. Robert Hunter, 35, was caught after a girl from Tasmania informed police. Officers found 800 videos from all over the world – some from boys as young as nine – at his home at Brough Court. Hunter pleaded guilty to 15 charges of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and 14 of making indecent photos at Teesside Crown Court. The court heard Hunter spent years targeting hundreds of girls and boys across the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Asia and Canada Girls, believing he was the pop star, stripped off in front of their computer cameras after he said he would be their boyfriend, the court heard. Schoolboys also became his victims when he posed as a teenage girl and persuaded them to perform sex acts on camera which he used to lure more girls, said prosecutor Richard Bennett. But when they tried to back out he blackmailed them with threats. A 12-year-old girl slashed her arms after he posted indecent photos of her on Facebook along with her address and phone number. Judge Peter Bowers said it was possibly the worst case of internet child sex abuse he had heard. “It represents callous, almost sadistic exploitation over a number of years preying on girls’ naivety who were undermined by their own behaviour,” he said. Tina Pawson, mitigating, said he was a “lonely individual who had difficulties in forming relationships with adults”. Miss Pawson said he had shown remorse and was willing to receive treatment in prison. Mr Bennett said Cleveland Police officers spoke to forces around the world and used Interpol to trace his victims. Hunter was arrested in December 2011. Mr Bennett said: “He was able to persuade some of them that he was the music artist Justin Bieber and he encouraged them to perform sex acts on camera and he recorded many of them.” Det Sgt Paul Higgins, of Cleveland Police, said: “Robert Hunter was a calculating and malicious predator who set out to coerce and bully young girls into exposing themselves over the internet.” August 2013 North-East paedophile forced children around world to make sex films A PERVERT’S sickening collection of home-made sex films involving children was found after one of his victims alerted police thousands of miles away from his home. Officers in Tasmania were able to trace paedophile Robert Hunter through his sleazy computer use, and tipped off colleagues in the UK who raided his home in Middlesbrough. The extent and depravity of his online activities is said to have shocked the most experienced detectives and could result in an extended prison sentence for public protection. Hunter, 35, will be sentenced when he appears at Teesside Crown Court next month. He was remanded in custody yesterday (Friday, August 2) after admitting a string of serious charges. It emerged during the hearing that Hunter contacted girls as young as 11 all over the world and encouraged them to film themselves in sexual acts so he could watch on a webcam. He used a video he obtained of a naked teenage boy – claiming it was him – to persuade the youngsters. Although ten girls appear on the charges he has admitted, Hunter had made online contact with hundreds of others in the Far East, Europe, Australia and in this country. When his victims had second thoughts about doing what he instructed, he threatened to tell their relatives what they had been up to, prosecutor Richard Bennett said. After police raided his home in December 2011, they found a folder on his computer called “me” where he had created false identities such as Josh, Joshua and Justin. More than 800 films and stills taken from them were discovered on the machine, said Mr Bennett. None of the images he had amassed had been downloaded from the internet. “It has been a fairly involved case and there are a number of disturbing aspects above and beyond the number of complainants,” the prosecutor told Judge Howard Crowson. Mr Bennett said he will be seeking a sentencing under ‘dangerousness’ provisions, and Judge Crowson said: “There is no doubt where Mr Hunter is going to be spending his time.” The judge described Hunter’s crimes, which were carried out between 2009 and 2011, as “persistent” and told him: “Obviously, you should expect a long prison sentence.” Hunter, of Brough Court, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to 15 charges of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and 14 of making indecent photos of children.