'It turned nasty, aggressive, threatening': Victims of sex offender Abdul Elahi speak of horrors
ITV News Central Reporter Ravneet Nandra hears from two women who have spoken out about the "aggressive and threatening" behaviour from convicted paedophile Abdul Elahi.
The following interviews have been filmed anonymously to hide the faces of the victims.
Two women who were victims of convicted sex offender Abdul Elahi have spoken to ITV News of the horrific ordeal they suffered at his hands.
Both women said they were asked for degrading pictures before Elahi turned "aggressive".
The 26-year-old lured them into taking graphic pictures and videos of themselves in exchange for money, later pressuring them into taking more degrading pictures after blackmailing them into sharing the content online.
After a three day sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, Elahi has been jailed for 32 years.
Passing sentence, Judge Sarah Buckingham told him: "The true number of your victims likely runs into thousands.
"You plainly derived pleasure from the agony you caused, with complete disregard for your victims' suffering."
The court heard that some women and young girls were blackmailed into abusing a baby or a sibling by Elahi, who had offered to pay off debts with Bitcoin.
His offending spanned a three year period from 2017 to 2019, with many of the offences committed while Elahi was on bail and subject to a sexual risk order.
Elahi also "acted as a mentor" to other online abusers, the court heard, with "copy-cat" offenders targeting some of his victims, the Crown alleged.
Story 1
Struggling to raise money to go to university in the summer of 2018, one woman was contacted by Elahi on Instagram, claiming to be a 'sugar daddy' figure, offering large amounts of money for lingerie pictures.
She agreed, but he then started to ask for pictures of her passport and driving licence to 'verify' who she was.
She said he asked for more degrading photos and she tried to block him.
Elahi blackmailed the woman into sending pictures and threatened to send others to her family and friends if she didn't.
She said: "Obviously you say no and then he reminds you of the addresses he's got, just sends you all your own details and obviously you're panicking thinking where have you got this from?"
She also spoke to the police but it wasn't until a couple of years later when the National Crime Agency approached her about the incident did the case against Elahi begin.
Story 2
This woman jokingly tweeted one day, asking if someone could send her money. Elahi responded saying he could help her, but wanted pictures and videos in return.
He started to be aggressive, asking her for more degrading pictures and videos over the course of three days.
She is worried about who has seen her pictures and videos online as they may still be out there.
She said: "It's really affected me with partners, particularly, because anyone I meet I think 'Have they already seen it? Do they know? Do I need to tell them? Do they need to know?"
She also spoke to the police but it wasn't until the NCA were involved that the case escalated and she realised how may thousands of people were victims like her.
Both women are being supported by the National Crime Agency. The both spoke out to raise awareness of the dangers social media can present.
The first woman told ITV News Central she's raising awareness "...for women around the world that get prayed on by men online and in person. It's just an absolute pandemic of sexual harassment. I just did this for women now and in the future".
The second woman wants people to know that receiving big sums of money online is too good to be true.
She said: "Full stop, just don't do it.
"There's lost of different ways to support yourself financially other than online because you don't know who's behind the computer screen... you don't know if someone is lying behind a screen and it can be really, really sad."
Who to contact if you or someone you know needs help
If you are concerned about your safety online, please visit www.getsafeonline.org or call the Samaritans on 116 123 for confidential support.
Think U Know- Online blackmail advice for parents on young people being blackmailed online.
Child protection charity The Lucy Faithfull Foundation also runs the Stop It Now! helpline – 0808 1000 900 – which offers confidential advice to anyone concerned about their own or someone else’s behaviour towards children.
Papyrus provide confidential advice and support and works to prevent young suicide in the UK. Call 0800 068 4141.
The Revenge Porn Helpline supports adults in the UK who have had intimate images shared without their consent.