Man Jailed for Making Indecent Images of Children

Published on: 7 Jan, 2025
Updated on: 7 Jan, 2025

Ryan Stone

A man has been sentenced to three years after using a fake online persona to gather indecent images of boys.

Between July and August 2021, Surrey Police received multiple referrals from the National Crime Agency (NCA) concerning a suspect who had used a fake persona online to communicate with boys aged 11-17.

The investigation led detectives to Ryan Stone, then aged 18, of Godalming. Posing as a young woman named Isabella, Stone had incited victims from across the UK to perform sexual acts and send them to him. He would then record and store them electronically.

His victims were identified because Stone had made screen recordings that captured their Instagram usernames.

Stone, now 21, was charged with 15 offences including inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and making indecent images of children.

On January 3 he was sentenced to 36 months in prison at Guildford Crown Court.

Detective Constable Connor Leney, from Surrey Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team, said: “Stone purposely groomed children online for his own sexual gain without any consideration of the lasting impact it may have on them. It is cases like this which show why it is so important to be aware of fake profiles and to have conversations with children about who they might be talking to online.

“Red flags for fake profiles include having no profile image, any requests for sexual images, requesting video calls from you but not showing their own face, or if your child is becoming secretive with their phone.

“If you have any concerns or suspect grooming is taking place, trust your instincts and report it immediately to police and to the social media platform.”