A US paedophile who travelled to Wales to “marry” a 15-year-old schoolgirl he met and groomed online has been jailed for seven years.
Jacob Ewing, 44, of Wildcat Pound Road, Hubert, North Carolina, forced the teenager to perform “degrading” acts on herself.
They met online using a video chat site that connects users randomly, where he told the girl he was a “paedophile hunter” and a Christian.
He flew to the UK after she turned 16, bringing with him wedding rings.
He was sentenced for 13 offences, including causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
PA
The 44-year-old was arrested upon landing at Cardiff Airport last year, where he was caught with numerous paedophilic images.
At Newport Crown Court, Judge Celia Hughes jailed Ewing for seven years and eight months. He had previously pleaded guilty to the offences.
He was sentenced for 13 offences, including causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Ewing could be deported during his sentence but this is a matter for the Home Office to decide on, the court heard.
The girl’s parents did not know who she was speaking to and she initially told them she was chatting to someone local and of her age.
He convinced her to let him watch her fall asleep whilst they were chatting online, and told her the next morning that he had performed a sex act while she was sleeping.
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The 44-year-old was arrested upon landing at Cardiff Airport last year, where he was caught with numerous paedophilic images
Wikimedia CommonsEwing also showed her a firearm and made her watch him perform sex on himself over 20 times.
Judge Hughes said: “He began to control her, being alternately kind and then unpleasant to her, including saying she shouldn't sleep covered up at night, even when she was cold.
“At one point she saw that the defendant had her initials tattooed on his chest.”
The girl said that she began to struggle to sleep unless she was on the webcam, a fact he “used like a game”.
She said the ordeal put her under huge amounts of stress and caused her to feel suicidal.
“Jacob didn’t care about this and encouraged me to kill myself on a number of occasions,” she said in a victim impact statement.
“This confused me – I couldn’t understand why he would tell me he loved me and tell me to hurt myself.”
The police were tipped off about Ewing by the US authorities, and the girl’s parents were informed.
At Newport Crown Court, Judge Celia Hughes jailed Ewing for seven years and eight months
PAJudge Hughes said: “A sheath knife and a wooden cosh were found in the defendant’s luggage on arrival at the airport – I really fear to what use the defendant might have put those weapons bearing in mind he was planning to meet a teenage girl he had groomed and controlled.”
Sentencing Ewing, the judge said: “You have portrayed yourself as the victim and haven’t taken responsibility for your actions.”
She added: “It is very fortunate that you were stopped at the airport.”
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Philip O’Connell, of Gwent Police, said: “Ewing struck up a relationship with a 15-year-old girl online, grooming and exploiting her for over a year before travelling thousands of miles to meet her.
“Working closely with US authorities and UK Border Force, he was detained at Cardiff Airport before being arrested and interviewed by our officers.”
He said that the agencies managed to intervene before any physical harm was done to the girl, though his actions will have a “profound impact”.
“We’d like to commend the victim in this case, who’s shown strength and great fortitude throughout the investigation and hope that today’s sentence helps in processing and moving forward with her life,” he added.
