Youth worker Cameron Osman who posed as a teenage girl from Birmingham to groom boys jailed

A 44 year-old youth worker has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after posing as a teenage girl to abuse boys online.

Cameron Osman, a former children’s holiday camp manager from Southampton was yesterday (Wednesday, November 1) sentenced to 13 years in prison, plus five years, on licence after admitting to grooming more than 70 teenage boys online. Osman was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

An investigation by the the National Crime Agency discovered that Osman would engage his victims in sexualised chat revolving around a fantasy online world in which he pretended to be a teenage girl. He never identified himself, instead telling victims his camera was broken.

Osman used the online alias ‘Lizzielemon’  contact victims on Instagram, MyLol and Love Crush, before moving them on to Google Hangouts, Discord and Skype.

The sex offender would say that ‘Lizzielemon’ was from Bristol or Birmingham, and that he had a fetish for dominating boys in school uniform and sports kit, and for conducting teacher/student role plays. The offending took place between 2020 and 2021.

Osman pleaded guilty to 36 separate charges at St Albans Crown Court earlier this year including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual communication with a child, and making two category C indecent images of children.

In impact statements read before the court, one victim’s mother said: “What happened affected his confidence hugely. He has become a lot more withdrawn.”

“He struggles to talk about what happened because he is embarrassed and humiliated, knowing he was fooled by a grown man pretending to be a young girl. He is now at an age where he should be talking to girls and exploring the world, this man has taken that away from him.”

How was child sex abuser Cameron Osman caught by the National Crime Agency?

The NCA tracked Osman down to a friend’s address in Crowborough, East Sussex, in September 2021 and arrested him. He had resigned from his job at a holiday camp activity centre in Hailsham a few days earlier.

His laptop and mobile phone were seized, and Osman was found to have contacted 76 boys in the UK aged between 12 and 16 during the offending period. All have been safeguarded. Officers found no evidence of Osman grooming children at the activity centre.

Investigators in the United States also uncovered chat logs showing sexualised communication by Osman with underage boys in 27 countries. He also searched online for underage boys in Columbia, where he was planning to visit.

Osman was released on bail as the investigation continued, but proceeded to offend again, leading to his arrest on 27 March this year after a further victim was identified. Osman pretended to be a younger man on this occasion and shared photos of himself.

Bethany Raine, Specialist Prosecutor in the CPS’ Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, said: “Cameron Osman created fake online personas in order to groom children. Posing as a teenage girl he manipulated numerous boys into believing they were in a relationship and engaged them in sexually explicit conversations. Some were tricked into performing sexual activity on camera for Osman’s gratification. His offending continued even while on bail after his initial arrest” she added.

What to do if you suspect someone of grooming youngsters online

The NCA’s CEOP Education programme supports parents, carers, children and the professionals to ensure young people have safe and positive experiences online.

Anyone being pressured or threatened into sending sexual images or videos online should remove themselves immediately from the conversation, not respond further to any contact, and report the matter to police or a trusted adult.

There are a range of resources available on our website, thinkuknow.co.uk, for adults – to support them in navigating the online world and conversations about it with their children, and children themselves – to help build their resilience online and learn what to do if something doesn’t seem right.