A “prolific” sex abuser has been jailed for almost 14 years after pleading guilty to 130 charges of sexual abuse.
David John Andrews, 55, with an address at Maghaberry Prison, was sentenced on Tuesday.
The charges - including attempted rape, threats to kill and inciting children to engage in sexual activity - relate to 47 victims, 46 of whom were children at the time of the offences
Delivering sentence at Downpatrick Crown Court, Judge Geoffrey Miller KC told the court that much of the detail of Andrews’ offending was “too harrowing and vile to be repeated”.
Andrews must serve a minimum of 13 and a half years before he is eligible for parole.
Andrews blackmailed his young victims after posing as a teenage boy on social media and coercing them to send nude photographs.
All but one of his 47 victims were children, with the youngest just eight.
A PSNI detective said it was clear that David John Andrews’ offending had spanned right across the UK.
Speaking after his sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Jill Duffie said: “On 27th March 2020 the Police Service of Northern Ireland were contacted by Derbyshire Police about reports that a number of underage girls had been groomed online by a man believed to be residing in Northern Ireland using the alias of a 13-year-old boy.
“On the same day, Detectives from our Public Protection Branch identified the home address of 55-year-old David Andrews in Belfast, arrested him and seized a number of electronic devices for forensic examination.
“Andrews was then interviewed and later charged with a number of child sexual abuse offences, and has been remanded in prison ever since.”
She added: “Following his initial interview with police, it became clear that David Andrews’ offending spanned right across the United Kingdom.
“He used the same behaviour pattern every time to groom young girls via Snapchat and Instagram into believing they were in a relationship with a young boy of a similar age. He would then encourage them to send indecent images of themselves, later using these images to threaten, blackmail and abuse them.”