A TEENAGER who was targeted by convicted online groomer Max Hollingsbee when she was just 15 years old has spoken out about the impact the abuse had on her.
Immy, which is not her real name, is now 18 years old.
Lurgan-based Hollingsbee used the so-called 'catfish' method to groom and coerce teenage girls into sending him indecent images over a period of almost two years.
In May he was sentenced to five years and two months behind bars after pleading guilty to a total of 42 charges against him,
They included blackmail, possessing indecent images of children, distributing indecent images of a child, sexual communication with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and unauthorised access to computer material.
Including Immy, the offences involved 14 female victims in total, mostly from England, which Hollingsbee carried out when he was aged between 17 and 19.
Immy was the first person to report the abuse to police, which launched an investigation uncovering the rest of his victims.
She is now speaking out publicly to support a PSNI campaign which seeks to raise awareness of predators in online spaces.
Max Hollingsbee (Image: PSNI)“When I got added on Wizz from someone I didn’t know personally I thought nothing of it, it is pretty normal for young people to add people from ‘suggested friends’ lists,” she explains.
“At the time I was a relatively awkward 15-year-old girl, I struggled to make friends and didn’t have much self-confidence.
“When this good-looking guy my age showed interest in me and complimented me, I felt special. But, it went zero to 100 within one day of chatting.
“The compliments quickly turned sexual, and he suggested sending intimate images of each other. He made me feel like he would lose interest if I didn’t, he promised it was only between me and him.
“Once I sent him an image, he switched. Started blackmailing and threatening to share them with my friends if I didn’t send him more and do more for him.”
She added: “He had convinced me prior to the blackmailing that I should allow him to enter my snapchat account without reporting him and I did because of his grooming however he did end up sending my images to a close female friend of mine. I felt like the world was collapsing around me, I blacked out during this time and have holes in my memory.
“I ran into my mum’s room and just remember collapsing into her arms and crying. I showed her what was going on and just remember crying on a ball on the floor of her room. I didn’t really know what was happening or what to do. If I hadn’t of told my mum, I dread to think what would have happened next.”
Immy says once she told her mum what had been happening she “never regretted it”.
“Although I was so embarrassed to show my mum I have never regretted for a second speaking out and getting help,” she admits.
“Both her and the police were incredible, not judgmental at all. By being the first of his victims to speak out, others were discovered and came forward and I feel like we prevented more children from being targeted.
“When I found out he’d been arrested, charged and then later sentenced, I felt a huge wave of relief and I was proud of myself for being brave.”
The PSNI’s Detective Chief Inspector Claire Gilbert, from the force’s Public Protection Branch, said groomers “operate in a very similar way, concealing their identity online pretending to be the same age as a child”.
“They use fake profile pictures, pretending to have similar interests to gain the trust of the child before steering the conversation to a sexual nature.
“Once trust in established, they use power and control to make, force, blackmail, guilt or trick a child into doing what the groomer wants.
“They may persuade a child to take part in online sexual activity including sharing explicit images and videos and livestreaming sexual acts.”
She added: "Recognising the signs of online grooming can be hard as often child predators are incredibly manipulative and tell children not to talk to anyone about it. Sometimes children don’t realise they’ve been groomed and may believe they are in a ‘relationship’."
DCI Gilbert explained: “It is a crime for anyone to possess, make, distribute or show anyone an indecent image of a child under 18 years of age.
"This offence can be committed by an adult or a child. It is also a crime for an adult to send a sexually explicit image of themselves to a child.
“We have specialist detectives within the Child Internet Protection Team who are dedicated to robustly investigating those who contribute to the cycle of child abuse and bringing those responsible before the courts.
"We use specialist technology to examine digital devices and trace any digital interaction right back to the person, making it difficult for offenders to hide evidence from us.
“If a person is downloading, viewing or making indecent images of children, you are leaving a digital footprint and we are actively looking for you.
"I would encourage anyone with concerns or information to get in contact us on 101 or 999 in an emergency.”
See More: Max Hollingsbee, Northern Ireland, Online Grooming
