A 43-year-old married father of two has been sentenced to 20 years in prison at Manchester Crown Court for being the first individual in the UK to receive a jail term under the new Online Safety Act for inciting a child to self-harm.
Karl Davies, a quantity surveyor from the Wirral, engaged with a girl from Cheshire via Snapchat, prompting her to harm herself and later committing sexual offenses against her. He pleaded guilty to and was convicted of 17 offenses involving a school girl aged between 13 and 14. Manchester Crown Court described his actions as lacking empathy and showing a monstrous sense of entitlement towards sexual gratification at the expense of his victim.
Davies initiated contact with the girl on Snapchat in June 2023, coercing her over the following year to send indecent images and videos of herself. Under various aliases, he then met her by picking her up from school during daylight hours to sexually abuse her in his car on four occasions in the summer of 2024.
Judge Hilary Manley handed down an extended sentence to Davies to account for his sadistic behavior. Throughout the abuse, Davies also pressured the victim into recording acts of self-harm and provided her with razors for this purpose.
This marks the first conviction under Section 184 of the Online Safety Act 2023 for inciting serious self-harm to a child. Judge Manley condemned Davies’s actions, stating that encouraging self-harm for sexual pleasure represents reprehensible conduct.
Davies was apprehended after the victim disclosed the abuse to her stepmother, leading to the discovery of incriminating footage on her phone. Despite his admission of guilt, Davies denied any sexual interest in children, despite his actions and comments indicating otherwise.
The prosecution revealed that Davies used multiple aliases on social media platforms to manipulate and coerce the victim, even resorting to threats to maintain control over her. His deceptive tactics culminated in sexual encounters with the victim, which he orchestrated and recorded for his gratification.
Stacey Gosling, a senior Crown prosecutor for CPS North West, highlighted the sophisticated and manipulative tactics employed by Davies to exploit and abuse the young girl, emphasizing the lasting impact of his actions on the victim. She expressed hope that the victim can begin to heal now that Davies has been held accountable for his despicable behavior.