Sick predator masturbated on Omegle video calls with children then claimed it was 'accidental'

A predator who masturbated on video calls with young girls, then claimed it was an accident, has been jailed. Adam Shine also asked one of the victims to perform a sex act for him on Omegle, a video chatroom which was shut down in November last year due to concerns about safeguarding, and a lawsuit which alleged the company 'profits from procuring children for sexual predators'.

The 25-year-old, of Digby Road in Hackney, had a visit from police on February 6 this year after officers were alerted to indecent images offences by the National Crime Agency. Shine denied the allegations during the visit, but his devices were seized and he was arrested. Digital experts at the Met then discovered disturbing recordings on his phone, involving three girls aged 11 and younger, going back to April 2023.

It showed Shine masturbating on a 20-minute Omegle call with an 11-year-old girl, during which he told her to undress and penetrate herself. He also asked 'Would you like to f**k me?' and said 'I would like to f**k you'. The liar claimed he was masturbating with other adults when the child randomly appeared on the call, but this dubious explanation was dismissed at the Old Bailey on Friday (June 14).

READ MORE: Bromley child abuse addict flashed sick rape videos at kids on Omegle and secretly filmed naked boy

Before it was shut down, Omegle was an application used to connect strangers together on the Internet through video calls. While it was accepted Shine was connected randomly with the child, a police constable told the court the video calls with adults 'were moved on quite quickly' until Shine matched with a child, from when the conversation became sexual 'almost immediately'.

Just five days after his depraved video call with the 11-year-old girl, Shine jumped back on Omegle and connected with two girls - aged 11 and eight - who police have never been able to identify. Shine told them 'You look sexy' and asked them to take off their clothes, exposing their chest and buttocks. The video recovered by police showed Shine masturbating and the girls performing sexual poses.

Shine has no previous offences, but he was diagnosed with depression and bouts of psychosis following his arrest. Defence counsel for Shine said he had 'never really recovered' from the death of his mum in 2018, when he was aged 19, and that his psycho-sexual emotional regulation had become 'retarded' at that age. "He has a confused view of sexual behaviour," said the barrister.

A probation officer concluded Shine poses a high risk to female children, and that he 'clearly has the capacity' to be aroused by children, but did not think he had a 'persistent deviant interest'. While Shine initially failed to understand the harm caused by his offending, on Friday the Old Bailey heard he now accepted the seriousness of his crimes.

"This [offending] is very concerning. Of course, it is impossible to see the psychological harm you have caused to those young girls. But there's clear evidence that your conduct does serious harm," said Judge Peter Rook KC.

Shine was jailed for four years and six months, for the most serious offence of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, but the judge refrained from passing an extended sentence. Instead, he concluded Shine's 'concerning' behaviour could be best managed by an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, which restricts his internet activities and allows police to monitor his devices.

Shine was given concurrent sentences for seven other counts of child sex offences, including sexual communication with a child and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. Charges for making indecent images of children, in relation to the videos seized by police, were left to lie on file. He must also sign the sex offenders register for life and pay a £220 victim surcharge.

'This will help to protect other children'

PC Lindsey Luscombe, of the Met’s Online Child Sex Abuse Investigation Team, said: “The information provided by the NCA linked Shine to indecent images of children. While reviewing his phone, officers quickly identified that Shine had used the Omegle website for three separate video calls with two 11-year-old girls and an 8-year-old girl in April 2023.

"On each call, Shine masturbated on camera and encouraged the girls to expose or touch themselves sexually. Met officers used clues in the videos, which had been recorded and retained by Shine, to locate and safeguard an 11-year-old child in the UK.

“In addition to his custodial sentence, Shine also received an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Along with the requirement for him to sign the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely, this will help to protect other children after he has served his prison sentence.”

Police say the two other children, believed to be in the United States, have not been identified, in part because of the limited information provided by Omegle which shut down in November 2023. "Information has been passed to American authorities," a Met spokesperson added.

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