A “monster” who used popular gaming and social media platforms to groom a child into committing “sadistic” violent and sexual acts is part of a growing trend, NSW Police allege.
Police will allege NSW man Jake Vandermeel connected with a “vulnerable child” on a social media platform in August 2023, and continued to converse with the girl on multiple platforms for nine months.
Jake Vandermeel was arrested at a Safety Beach home. Credit: NSW Police
The 28-year-old would play online games with the girl, aged 15, for up to six hours a day at times and would convince the child to commit sexual acts and self-harm for his own gratification.
Police allege Vandermeel threatened the girl with rape, abduction and murder if she didn’t comply with his requests.
The girl eventually reached out for help through Kids Helpline, who helped her report the alleged abuse to her family and police.
Vandermeel was arrested on Wednesday at Safety Beach, around 30 kilometres north of Coffs Harbour, and charged with multiple child sex abuse offences, including using a device to engage in sexual activity with a child, to groom a child under 16 years old for sex and to cause a child to commit a sexual act.
‘To read almost nine months of conversations where this man is manipulating and coercing this child … breaks your soul a little.’
Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty
He was formally refused bail at Coffs Harbour Local Court on Wednesday.
Vandermeel is allegedly part of a growing trend of “sadistic sexploitation”, a deviation of typical sextortion cases where instead of grooming the child for financial gain, the victims are being used for the offender’s own personal gratification.
Sex crimes squad commander Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty described the alleged offending as “the most horrendous acts that anyone can perform against a child”.
“For investigators to sit and read almost nine months of conversations where this man is manipulating and coercing this child to commit violent acts against themselves, filming them for him. It breaks your soul a little bit,” she said.
“Yesterday, we arrested a monster.”
In September federal police issued a warning to parents over the rise in “sadistic sextortion” online with some offenders around the world forcing children to engage in specific live sex acts, animal cruelty, serious self-harm, and even live online suicide.
“Warning signs children may be engaging in harmful activity online may include increased screen-time on computers or phones, isolating themselves from friends and family or being secretive about who they are interacting with online,” AFP Commander of Human Exploitation and the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation Helen Schneider said.
If parents discover their child is a victim of this practice, they should immediately stop the chat, take screenshots of the messages and the profile, and report the crime to police.
If you are a young person in need of help contact Kids Helpline 1800 551 800.
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