WILLIAM POWNER FROM WARRINGTON SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES INVOLVING ONLINE EXPLOITATION
In July 2018, a young man from Warrington was formally sentenced after admitting to a series of 25 child sex offences that revealed a disturbing pattern of online exploitation and manipulation.William Powner, originally from Woolston, engaged in a calculated scheme to sexually exploit young boys by disguising himself as a teenage girl on various social media platforms.
Over a period of time, Powner targeted boys as young as nine years old, reaching out to them through private messages on popular social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.
His approach was methodical; he contacted nine victims in total, eight of whom were from Warrington, and enticed them to send indecent photographs and videos of themselves.
In exchange, he often promised that he would reciprocate with similar images or videos, creating a false sense of trust and intimacy.
Once he received these explicit materials, Powner would record the content and then use threats to coerce the victims into further sexual acts.
He threatened to share their private images with friends or post them publicly if they refused to comply with his demands.
In one particularly egregious incident, he uploaded an indecent video of a victim onto Instagram after the victim did not meet his demands.
Beyond his known victims, Powner exploited an online chat website that allows users to communicate anonymously.
Through this platform, he managed to manipulate and sexually exploit additional victims from around the world.
He employed this method to trick young boys into sending him more indecent images and videos.
Powner also falsely claimed to possess software capable of identifying victims’ identities and locations, using this as leverage to blackmail them into performing sexual acts on webcams.
The criminal activities came to light when victims confided in their parents about the abuse they had endured.
The police investigation intensified when authorities seized and examined Powner’s laptop and tablet devices.
These devices contained a significant number of indecent images of children, confirming the extent of his offending.
During court proceedings, Powner pleaded guilty to all 25 charges he faced at Chester Youth Court on Wednesday, 14 March.
His sentencing took place at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, 17 July.
The judge imposed a three-year youth rehabilitation order, coupled with a one-year curfew order monitored electronically.
Additionally, Powner was ordered to comply with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, and he was required to sign the sex offenders’ register for a period of two years and six months.
Cheshire Police Constable Becky Millyard expressed her condemnation of Powner’s actions, stating, “The teenager tricked, manipulated, and blackmailed boys aged nine to 17 in order to fulfill his own sexual gratification.
His actions have had a profound impact on his victims and will affect them for the rest of their lives.”
