A "twisted and vindictive" man has been jailed for 13 years for sexually blackmailing an 11-year-old girl on SnapChat.

James Michael David Webber used threats to force an 11-year-old girl to send him nude photos of herself, said Annie Richardson, prosecuting.

When she refused to record herself performing a sexual act for him, he shared the images she had already sent him to others.

As a result, the girl had suffered deep-rooted psychological harm, said Ms Richardson at York Crown Court.

Recorder Aisha Wadoodi said: “The impact on this young girl, in my judgement, will stay with her for the rest of her life.”

Webber had “humiliated and distressed” the 11-year-old.

“I am satisfied you knew you had a vulnerable young girl whom you could manipulate,” she said.

Defence solicitor advocate Keith Whitehouse said Webber’s crimes had cost him his job, his marriage and his liberty.

“His life is in tatters,” he said.

Webber, who used to have his own engineering business, of Hollygarth Lane, Beal near Selby, denied blackmail, two charges of causing a child to engage in sex acts, three of having indecent images of children and one of extreme pornography.

He was convicted by a jury at York Crown Court last summer and was remanded in custody. 

Several supporters watched from the public gallery as he was jailed for 13 years, put on the sex offenders’ register for life, and made subject to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order banning him from contacting or being with children and restricting his use of the internet.

The North Yorkshire Police detective who brought him to justice, Detective Constable Jenna Hallewell, said: “Webber denied the offences, showing no remorse for the twisted and vindictive behaviour against his victim that still impacts on her to this day.

“I’d like to pay tribute to the victim and her bravery in coming forward which has been incredible. Her courage means that Webber is no longer free to target and victimise children for his own pleasure.

“It is important that victims of such crimes come forward to assist police in locating perpetrators to put a stop to online abuse against children.”

Ms Richardson said Webber set up SnapChat accounts in false names and when the girl blocked one account after he sent her a sexual picture of himself, contacted her on another.

He used the location facility on the SnapChat app to find out where she lived. 

He created more SnapChat accounts until days before his arrest and was deleting incriminating evidence on his phone including the SnapChat app as police walked into his house. 

North and South Yorkshire Police combined to bring him to justice. 

Ms Richardson said Webber concocted a story blaming another man for the SnapChat accounts and claimed he was himself the victim of a blackmailer.

But forensic evidence linked him to the accounts and offences.

Police also found evidence he had searched the internet for indecent images of children and had 97 images of the worst category of sexual images and videos of children, 149 of the next category and 144 of the lowest category. He also had four extreme pornographic images.

The judge said the many references submitted on Webber’s behalf described him as a “supportive friend, good relative and contributed to village life”.

Mr Whitehouse said Webber had helped other prisoners while on remand and done courses.