Jake Wright

Jake Wright, a 29-year-old resident of Chingford, London, was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 25 January 2024 for a series of sexual exploitation offences targeting teenage girls. The case, investigated by the Metropolitan Police in collaboration with West Midlands Police and City of London Police, revealed Wright's predatory behaviour on social media platforms, where he groomed and coerced minors into sending explicit images.

The Metropolitan Police were first alerted to Wright in 2022 when the family of a teenage victim reported his contact with their daughter via social media. Wright offered the girl £12,000 in exchange for sexual photographs of herself, later escalating his demands to include images involving her friend for additional money. When the victims refused, Wright resorted to threats, sending photos of himself holding a gun and initiating video calls to intimidate them. He further threatened to distribute the explicit images to their families and friends, a threat he carried out in at least one instance.

• In March 2022, West Midlands Police received a similar report of Wright exploiting another teenage girl. He threatened to kill her, sharing images of firearms and bullets, and issued an ultimatum: travel to London for sex with him, commit suicide, or face the distribution of her images to loved ones.
• In October 2022, City of London Police investigated Wright's contact with a 17-year-old girl on Snapchat. Their conversation quickly turned sexual, with Wright demanding nude photos in exchange for money and offering £60,000 to meet him in a hotel. When they met, he refused to pay her.

Detectives found images of the victims on Wright's phone and traced his social media accounts as the primary means of contact. He was arrested on 21 October 2022 and charged with paying for sexual services of a child, causing sexual exploitation of a child, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, making indecent photographs of a child, and threats to kill. Wright pleaded guilty to all charges on 18 May 2023 and 21 September 2023.

Detective Constable Samantha Thompson, from the Metropolitan Police’s specialist crime online child sexual abuse and exploitation unit, commented: “I would like to commend the victims in this harrowing case, who have been truly traumatised by Wright. The memory of these horrific crimes will remain with them and their families for the rest of their lives. I hope this sentencing will bring them some peace.” The sentence includes four years on extended licence, reflecting the severity of Wright's actions in making streets unsafe for women and girls.