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A sex offender who groomed a schoolgirl online and told her to carve his name into her neck has been jailed. Kai Edmundson, 18, befriended the 14-year-old on social media using platforms including Discord, WhatsApp and Telegram to groom her. Edmundson, who lives in Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, never met his victim who lived in Derbyshire but he was able to abuse her via the internet. The dangerous predator sent her up to five indecent images of children and a link to a website which contained indecent images of children as young as four. Edmundson also demanded his victim send him images of herself undressing and performing lewd acts. He told her to refer to him as a 'disgusting paedophile' and described how he wanted to commit illegal acts. The two were in communication over a four month period from September last year, during which Edmundson openly referred to himself as a paedophile and sent the indecent images to the schoolgirl. As their conversations continued Edmundson encouraged the victim’s eating disorder and told her to carve his name into her skin. The twisted pervert also encouraged the victim to self-harm and requested evidence to prove that she had done it. The grim chats came to an end on January 31 2025 when Derbyshire Police visited the girl following a report of inappropriate contact. Investigators were able to recover screenshots of conversations between the victim and a profile on Discord which was being operated by Edmundson. They also saw the faint marks on the victim’s neck of the name Kai which had been scratched into the skin. Officers from Lancashire Police East’s Internet Child Exploitation Team swooped on April 1, arresting Edmundson. His phone was seized and officers found indecent images of children on it. Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Edmundson, formerly of Oswaldtwistle but now of no fixed address, was charged with engaging in sexual communication with a child; causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity; encouraging or assisting serious self-harm; and possessing indecent images of children. He pleaded guilty to all the offences when he appeared at Preston Crown Court earlier this year. He was back in the dock today (24th October) and was sentenced to five years and three months in custody. He was also made subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life. DS Nicholas Barker, from our East Internet Child Exploitation Team, said: “Edmundson is an extremely troubled young man with some extremely disturbing views and behaviours. He is someone who presents a serious risk to children due to his online activities. “I hope the outcome of this case, and the fact that Edmundson has been given a custodial sentence sends out a clear message that the police will not tolerate this abhorrent behaviour online. We will work with other forces to protect the victims and put the offenders before the courts. “We are also working hard to get that message out to parents and children to be wary of online predators, such as Edmundson. They may act like they are your friend and that they care about you, but they are actually dangerous individuals who mean you serious harm. “Finally, I want to praise the victim in this case for the immense bravery she has shown throughout this process. Now the court process is over, I hope she can now begin to move on with her life.”
