“Depraved” soldier blackmailed up to 90 kids in sick sextortion plot

23 October 2025 , 10:32

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A wicked soldier orchestrated a vile sextortion scheme, coercing young children into performing sexual acts for him.

"Depraved" Austen Fleming, 29, enticed nearly 90 children online while serving as a soldier at RAF Dishforth, in North Yorkshire. The sick predator pretended to be an "attractive" woman on fake social media profiles and recorded his interactions with these children to use the footage as leverage to extract more explicit content from them.

When the children refused, the soldier threatened to send the images to their families and friends, using this threat to blackmail the young children into providing further explicit material.

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Fleming was initially arrested on November 14, 2022, and his living quarters were searched for evidence. It quickly became evident to the police that his crimes were extensive, with victims needing to be traced across the country.

The soldier was further arrested on suspicion of making indecent images of children and facilitating a child sexual offence. Fleming was interviewed but released on bail while police gathered evidence. Investigators determined the predator committed his heinous crimes between December 2020 and January 2023.

Fleming was re-arrested on December 16, 2024, for multiple offences including blackmail, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, causing the exploitation of a child, and distributing indecent images of children.

One boy, aged 15, was so badly traumatized by Fleming’s sextortion threats on Snapchat that he attempted to take his own life, according to the Daily Record. Others were left crying and shaking with fear by what he had put them through, as heard at Leeds Crown Court.

Fleming, who had served in the 6 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, was sentenced to 24 years in prison and ordered to serve three additional years on extended license.

He confessed to 83 cyber-enabled child sexual abuse and exploitation offences. The youngest of Fleming’s numerous victims was just 10 years old, and the oldest only 17.

Terrified victims "begged" Fleming not to leak their images online, but their pleas only resulted in him making even more graphic and depraved demands. He instructed one 15-year-old victim to send indecent videos, warning: "Send bro or the vids going up."

Fleming compelled children to send explicit images taken next to sleeping siblings and to create sexual videos involving family pets. One child was reportedly so traumatized that he "vomited" when recounting to his mother what he had been forced to do.

Judge Ray Singh noted how social media had given Fleming "easy access" to victims and told him: "Despite your relatively young age, your depravity knew no bounds. There are 61 individual identified victims.

"There are 27 who have not been able to be identified. So you were approaching 100 victims. Each a real person, each a real child, each of whom was abused by you."

Detective Constable Tom Sutcliffe from the Online Child Abuse Team, who led the investigation, said: "Fleming is clearly a depraved offender who poses a significant danger to young people especially. He now faces a long time in prison and will be rigorously monitored by the authorities for the rest of his life."