Victim of Snapchat groomer says he 'should never see the sun again'

Currently, all users on Snapchat must confirm they are 13 years or older (or the minimum age in their jurisdiction) before they are able to create an account, as ITV News’ Midlands Correspondent Stacey Foster reports

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing

A teenage victim of a man who groomed several girls on Snapchat has told ITV News she felt “sick” when she learnt of the extent of his offending.

Olivia, not her real name, said Paul Lipscombe should “never see the sun again” for his crimes, and blames herself for “letting this all happen”.

She was 15 years old when she was contacted by Paul Lipscombe from Rothley, Leicestershire. He was sentenced to 28 years at Leicester Crown Court after pleading guilty to 34 offences against six girls.

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He groomed the girls, aged between 12 and 15 at the time, on Snapchat, before meeting up with five of them and committing various sexual offences. The incidents took place between September 2023 and April 2024.

Olivia, who decided, unlike other victims, not to meet Lipscombe in person, said, “Even the thought of having Snapchat again scares [her].”

She is now calling for the platform to use facial recognition technology to better protect younger users.

Olivia said she questions herself over why she didn’t see the “red flags”.

“He was trying to bribe me… he was trying to use money and bribery as a way to get power over me and to get me to do things he wanted, like meet up with him,” she said.

“Obviously, I knew that was wrong”, she added, explaining that she told Lipscombe a false address for where she lived and “didn’t go any further past just talking to him”.

Asked about what Lipscombe told her about himself, Olivia said, “he told me he was 29, which obviously he is not.”

She said he also told her he worked for the NHS and that he had a Tesla.

Olivia explained that Lipscombe provided her with reassurance and comfort, which is why she kept talking to him.

“It was like the reassurance. He’d ask me about my day at school and tell me that he’d be okay and said if I had a problem, he would talk to me about it.

“Because I didn’t want to stress anybody out, I went to him for comfort.”

Reflecting on how she felt when she learned the extent of Lipscombe’s offending, she said, “It’s so disgusting, like why is a grown man doing that to a child? I was just in shock.”

“People like him do not deserve to see the sun again, do not deserve nice things. They should just be locked in a room,” she added.

Olivia is calling for Snapchat to use more protections to make it safer for young people.

Currently, all users on Snapchat must confirm they are 13 years or older (or the minimum age in their jurisdiction) before they are able to create an account.

If Snapchat becomes aware of an existing account that belongs to a person under 13, it will terminate their account and delete their data.

In particular, Olivia wants Snapchat to use facial recognition to verify the age of users and prevent young teenagers from being able to talk to older people.

“Everybody should have to prove that they are who they say they are,” Olivia said.

A Snapchat spokesperson said: “Sexual exploitation of young people is an abhorrent crime, and we are working hard to combat it. We regularly work with law enforcement to help keep such activity off our platform and bring criminals to justice, and we’ve done that in this particular case.

“We have extra protections for teens, including in-app pop-up warnings if we think the contact could potentially be suspicious. We also encourage our community to use our easy in-app reporting tools so they can get help quickly and we continue to work with police, safety experts and NGOs to help create a safer experience for Snapchatters.”