Paedophile gamer Adam Isaac jailed after grooming youngsters online

A 23-year-old paedophile has been jailed after using a video game to groom two teenagers.

Adam Isaac, from Merthyr Tydfil, used the popular Minecraft site to befriend the boys aged 12 and 14, before carrying out a string of sexual offences online.

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard Isaac had participated in Skype chats of a sexual nature and carried out a sex act online, as well as requesting intimate images of the two youngsters.

He admitted five charges of causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography, one charge of causing or inciting a child in sexual activity, one charge of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and one charge of possessing indecent images.

Judge Richard Twomlow QC described the offences as serious, adding: "Minecraft is a very popular game with teenagers and is an innocent type of game involving construction but your behaviour amounted to a grooming process."

The parents of the boys were not initially aware of what was happening, but one father later contacted police after finding Skype chats of a sexual nature.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the family of the younger boy said he was still suffering from the grooming but hoped he would eventually lead a normal life.

The court heard Isaac was already on the sex offenders' register after being cautioned in 2015 for possessing a "small number" of indecent images of children.

Sue Ferrier, defending, said Isaac was bullied at school and had been playing online games since he was 12.

"He didn't fit in and has been rejected from many different areas of life," she said.

"He found the online world more fascinating than the real world. The reality is that he does not have any good friends, he just has associates.

"He is a young man who needs help and it is a shame that he didn't receive that help when his offending first came to light as a teenager.

"He is isolated, he never goes out at all, he is always indoors."

Isaac was jailed for two years and eight months and was also given a sexual harm prevention order, banning him from accessing the internet and storing digital images online.

An NSPCC spokesperson described what happened as "every parent's nightmare".