Sex offender who targeted boys by posing online as a teenage girl jailed

A sex offender who targeted boys by posing online as a teenage girl has been jailed for five years.

Gerard Murray, 35, originally from Strabane but whose address was given in court documents as Maghaberry Prison, admitted 152 child sexual abuse offences at Dungannon Crown Court.

The offences included sexual communication with a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual act and making an indecent photograph or pseudo of a child.

Police said his offending spanned over a five-year period from 2016 to 2021 and involved 40 young male victims.

Judge Brian Sherrard told the sentencing hearing that the court was stunned by the number of victims in the case, and described the offences as "gross depravity".

Murray was sentenced to 10 years. He will serve five years in prison and five years on licence.

He will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period and will be subjected to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) indefinitely.

He was also placed on a barring list preventing him from working with children and vulnerable adults.

Detective Chief Inspector Lorraine McCutcheon said: "Murray targeted young boys, as young as eight years old, posing as a teenage girl on Snapchat.

"He manipulated them into sending indecent images and videos of themselves that he would then record and save for his own sexual gratification.

"He has caused serious and long-lasting harm on the many boys that he preyed upon and their families.

"I want to thank them today for being so incredibly brave and assisting our investigations.

"Crimes of this nature are not tolerated in our society and we as a police service will never stop working hard to bring perpetrators to justice.

"If you have suspicions that someone you know or live with is engaging in any sort of sexual communication with a child please contact 101 or 999 in an emergency."