Girl left 'shell of former self' after abuse

A man sent a teenage girl an explicit photo of himself after befriending her online using a false profile photo.

The online abuse by Mark Broom, 47, left the girl a “shell of her former self” and first began in March 2024.

It was discovered when the girl’s father checked her phone after noticing she had been using it more often. He noticed two chats, one on TikTok and one on WhatsApp, where he also found the explicit photo.

The father contacted police, who seized the phone and traced it to Broom, of Hinchcliffe, Orton Goldhay, Peterborough.

The chats revealed Broom had said he was 18, asked the teenager what underwear she was wearing and said he couldn’t wait to be with her.

The two profile photos did not show Broom but instead two different men, aged 18 to 22 – one of a model taken from social media.

In police interview, Broom answered no comment to all questions about speaking to the girl, who was 14 at the time and does not live in Cambridgeshire.

However, he admitted one charge of sending a photograph of his genitals to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation, on the day his trial was due to begin at Huntingdon Law Courts in December.

He was sentenced at the same court on Friday (6 February) where he was handed a total of one year and seven months in prison. Broom was also made the subject of a seven-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to monitor any further offending.

Detective Sergeant Mike Paget, from the force’s Online Child Abuse Safeguarding Team (OCAST), said: “The impact of Broom’s behaviour on his teenage victim should not be underestimated.

“In an impact statement given to the court, the girl’s parents shared how she was once a bright, bubbly, friendly, outgoing child, who had a positive outlook on life but has now become withdrawn, anxious, depressed and doesn’t have any drive for her future. She doesn’t go out, doesn’t socialise and has become a shell of her former self.

“Also importantly, as parents, they told how they have been left anxious of any and all interactions their children have on and offline, and are also now suspicious of new people.

“They concluded that their hearts have been left broken for the little girl who has been lost and replaced with a scared, angry, broken young woman.”

Det Sgt Paget said mobile phones and social media meant children could be vulnerable to those who preyed on their innocence and exploited their trust.

For more information and advice on how to keep your children safe online, visit our dedicated web page.

Anyone who is concerned someone may have been convicted of a sex offence, and could be posing a risk, can apply for disclosure information through Sarah’s Law.