October 26, 2018 5.03 pm This story is over 65 months old

Teen paedophile jailed for 10 years after posing as girl

He was 16 at the time
Ethan Brown has been sentenced to 10 years and two months in jail. Photo: Lincolnshire Police

A 20-year-old man has been jailed for over 10 years after being found guilty of posing as a teenage girl online to entice boys to send him sexual images and perform sex acts on themselves.

As previously reported, Ethan Brown, 20, of Station Road, Waddington, admitted posing online as a teenage girl to entice boys.

After a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court on October 26 he was sentenced to 10 years and two months in jail.

Brown, who was 16 at the time of the offences, used Facebook and other social media to target the boys, who were aged between eight and 17.

Working with the National Crime Agency, Lincolnshire Police identified 75 boys from across the UK over eight months.

Evidence relating to the offences was recovered from his devices as well as evidence linking his address to the Facebook activity.

A total of 25 prosecutions were brought against Brown, who was charged with Causing and Inciting Children to Child Sexual Exploitation and Possession of Indecent Images Of A Child.

He pleaded guilty to the charges at a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court on September 28 before being bailed until today’s (October 26) court hearing where he has been sentenced.

Detective Constable Wayne Pilkington, of Lincolnshire Police’s Child Sexual Exploitation Team, led the investigation with support from several specialist departments.

He previously said: “This was a lengthy and meticulous investigation which took more than three years in total to complete.

“This included interviews with the identified victims, forensic examination of multiple electronic devices and the painstaking review of digital material.

“It also involved a number of lengthy enquiries with law enforcement in America in order to retrieve evidence from Facebook.”