A predatory paedophile who masqueraded as a teenage girl on social media to groom and blackmail young boys has been sentenced to 21 years in prison. Jay Lang, 24, from Canvey Island in Essex, conducted a three-year campaign of abuse, amassing hundreds of thousands of indecent images and targeting over 200 potential victims.
The Deceptive Online Persona
Lang created fake accounts on Snapchat and Instagram using a pseudonym, presenting himself as a 16-year-old girl named 'Chloe'. He specifically targeted boys aged between 11 and 16, engaging them in conversation before steering discussions towards sexually explicit content.
Using a screen-recording app on his phone, he covertly saved images and videos the boys sent, believing they were sharing them with a peer. Once he had secured compromising material, Lang would reveal his true identity as a man and begin a campaign of blackmail.
He demanded either more extreme images or cash payments, threatening to publish the existing photos to the victims' friends and family if they refused to comply. This coercive control left many boys feeling trapped and powerless.
A Vast Web of Abuse Unravels
The offending, which spanned from 2019 to 2021, finally came to light in November 2021 when one courageous victim contacted Essex Police. This report triggered one of the force's largest ever child sexual exploitation investigations.
Upon analysing Lang's phone, officers discovered a horrifying cache of evidence: 540 videos and approximately 140,000 indecent images. Police identified 220 potential victims, with 26 providing formal evidential statements to secure his conviction.
The court heard harrowing details of Lang's escalation from online to in-person abuse. One victim, fearing the release of his images, agreed to meet Lang. The defendant drove the boy to a secluded location in a van and sexually assaulted him. In another instance, Lang blackmailed a boy into filming himself performing a sex act with a friend.
'Keep Digging': Grooming the Police
Footage from Lang's police interview at Basildon police station, analysed for a new Channel 4 documentary, reveals his manipulative behaviour even when caught. In the clip, featured in 'Social Media Monsters', Lang repeatedly tells detectives, 'Keep digging', suggesting they had the wrong man.
Detective Sergeant Ben Rushmere, the supervising officer, interpreted this as an attempt to groom the investigators. 'He was trying to groom us as well,' DS Rushmere stated. 'They almost play the victim themselves in front of us.'
Clinical psychologist Dr Roberta Babb analysed Lang's demeanour, noting his lack of remorse. 'By saying 'keep digging', he is really demonstrating a lack of remorse,' she explained. 'He's trying to maintain a sense of control and superiority, which were core aspects of his offending behaviour.'
Justice Served
At Basildon Crown Court in September 2023, Jay Lang admitted to 46 offences, including:
- Causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
- Blackmail
- Causing or inciting child sexual exploitation
- Arranging or facilitating a child sex offence
He was sentenced to 21 years in prison, with an extended licence period of six years. The judge also imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered Lang to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life.
The case underscores the severe dangers of online grooming and the sophisticated tactics employed by predators. It also highlights the critical importance of victims coming forward, as demonstrated by the brave action that ultimately ended Lang's reign of abuse.
