Facebook Sex Abuser Jailed For 10 Years

A 20-year-old man who admitted abusing girls he met through Facebook has been jailed for 10 years.

Jake Ormerod from Torbay, Devon pleaded guilty to 13 counts of sexual activity with girls aged 13 and over.

He has been forced to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

Sentencing, judge philip wassall told Ormerod his offending was 'so extreme and so prolonged' as to require him to be sentenced as a dangerous offender.

He told him that he had read the victim impact statements of both the children and their families in full and that his behaviour was "an obvious affront to even the most basic standards of human decency."

Ormerod sat smiling and looking bored as the court heard how he selected and groomed his victims using social networking sites and waiting outside school gates.

The court also heard how he had preyed particularly on the vulnerable, targetting young girls who had run away from home or got into difficulties at school.

Girls who had been reported missing by their parents in the local area were often found at Ormerod's home, which he shared with his disabled mother, where he would ply them with drink and drugs before abusing them.

Prosecuting, Andrew Macfarlane, told the court Ormerod "took advantage of their vulnerability".

He said: "He mercilessly corrupted them in order to satisfy his apparently insatiable need for sex.

"He never used a condom. He never took 'no' for an answer."

Stark photographs of the home Ormerod shared with his mother were shown to the judge as the prosecution described the "filthy and disgusting" conditions inside, with no electricity supply, and discarded clothes used in place of toilet paper.

Detective Inspector Simon Snell, head of Devon and Cornwall Police's Child Exploitation Unit, said: "Make no mistake, Jake Ormerod is not a trivial offender.

"He has been sentenced for serious and disturbing crimes.

"He would prey on young, vulnerable girls, many of whom were frequently missing from home home and then commit sexual offences against them.

He added: "Often while they were drunk or under the influence of alcohol and cannabis.

"He used classic grooming behaviour to make the victim feel as if they are in love with the offender - he then abused them.

"He is a predatory sexual offender who took advantage of young girls who were vulnerable."

A victim's statement was read to the court in which she detailed being attacked in a 'pitch black' room at Ormerod's house in what was her first sexual experience.

The girl, who was aged 14 at the time of the attack, has since tried to commit suicide, the prosecution said.

Ormerod was convicted as part of Operation Mansfield, a major investigation into suspected child exploitation across the Torbay area, which has so far identified 139 possible victims aged 11-15 years old and involves Police, Social Services, NHS and local schools.

DI Simon Snell, leading the investigation for Devon and Cornwall Police, said Ormerod was not the only offender involved, and that his crimes were only a "snapshot of the truth".

Operation Mansfield, he stressed, continues, with more potential victims coming to light and interviews still being undertaken, although there are no further charges currently pending.

Sending Ormerod down, Judge Wassall commended the bravery of his victims and the conduct of the police investigation.