Man who urged vulnerable woman to kill herself and self-harm given hybrid order

Independent

2 days ago

A man who persistently urged a vulnerable woman to kill herself and self-harm during video calls for his own sexual pleasure has been handed a prison sentence of nine years and four months.
Tyler Webb, 23, repeatedly told his victim to end her life during weeks of what she called 'calculated psychological violence' because he wanted to watch her die on a video call.
The defendant, of King Crescent South in Loughborough, was the first person in the country to be charged with encouraging serious self-harm online under Section 184 of the Online Safety Act 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
He pleaded guilty in May to that charge and a separate charge of encouraging suicide between June 22 and July 11 last year.
Handing Webb the hybrid order, meaning he will begin his sentence in hospital until he is deemed fit for prison, at Leicester Crown Court on Friday, Judge Timothy Spencer KC agreed that 'very largely' Webb was motivated by sexual gratification.
He said: 'Your persuasion extended over a substantial period of time. The two of you were not in any sort of suicide pact – it was always you hang yourself for my pleasure.'
Webb, with long black hair and wearing a blue t-shirt, sat in the dock with his head bowed down and hands clasped over his ears before hiding underneath his chair, where he remained for most of the hearing.
He did not respond when asked to confirm his name.
Prosecutor Louise Oakley said the woman, who cannot be named, met Webb on a Reddit forum where people shared mental health support, before the pair started video calling on the Telegram app where they would have conversations which were 'dark in nature'.
Ms Oakley told the court that when Webb encouraged her to harm herself, 'in (the victim's) words, he loved it. Tyler Webb told her it turned him on'.
Telling the court about Webb urging the woman to kill herself, Ms Oakley said: 'He told her he wanted her to do it during a video call so he could watch. He would berate her and say she had nothing to live for and she should die.'
The court heard on one occasion Webb watched the woman attempt suicide by hanging, and when it failed he told her to try again.
The woman contacted the police on July 3 last year because she feared Webb would encourage someone else to harm themselves after he asked her to 'sacrifice' herself, and he was arrested a week later.
In a victim impact statement read aloud to the court by Ms Oakley, the woman wrote: 'I don't want to call this encouraging serious self-harm or suicide, I want to call this what it is – an attempted murder through psychological means.
'What Tyler did was not a mistake, it was calculated psychological violence. He didn't try to kill me with his hands but with his words.
'He had no turmoil while torturing me. He told me that my only value was in dying for his entertainment.
'I'm alive, but the life I have left is altered forever. My life is ruined – my mind and body have been severely damaged.'
Ms Oakley told the court: '(Webb's) user profile on Reddit was identified as u/EmpathicNarcissist and a review of the account revealed numerous anime or gaming characters in various erotic poses with fatal injuries. All of the characters were female.'
The prosecutor said the fact Webb refused to turn on his own camera during his video calls with the woman suggests he had insight that 'what he was doing was wrong and he was in effect looking out for himself, not her'.
Ms Oakley told the court: 'We submit his offending involved pre-meditation, persistence and extensive encouragement and advice. He pressurised her and was at times unpleasant.
'Importantly, it appears he was sexually motivated and genuinely wanted to see her die. He knew her vulnerabilities, her previous traumas and knew she had previously attempted suicide.'
Defence barrister Joey Kwong said Webb was in a 'dark time' with his mental health and 'wrongly he adopted such warped behaviour and distorted thinking' from material he saw online.
The court heard that the defendant has been diagnosed with mental health disorders including autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and anxiety and depressive disorders, which have a 'significant impact on his life'.
Dr Ajith Gurusinghe, a treating clinician for Webb who has been in hospital because he is 'unable to cope in the prison regime', told the court the defendant has 'shown some remorse but not completely'.
Webb was also made subject of a restraining order during the hearing.
Detective Constable Lauren Hampton, of Leicestershire Police, said: 'This case is not only truly shocking but also deeply concerning.
'Webb preyed upon a vulnerable woman at a time when she was reaching out to people in an online forum for help and support.
'He quickly gained her trust and then he began with his barrage of vile requests – all the time knowing that what he was telling her to do could result in her ending her own life. Thankfully, this did not happen, and the victim was able to report what had happened.'
Alex Johnson, a specialist crown prosecutor in the Special Crime Division of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Tyler Webb contacted a vulnerable woman online and encouraged her to commit serious self-harm and to end her life by hanging.
'He knew she was vulnerable and would act on his requests but went ahead with his persistent requests knowing she may well die.
'Fortunately, his repeated and insistent suggestions did not result in a death.'
– The Samaritans can be contacted anonymously on 116123 or email [e-mail].