Man who encouraged woman to kill herself sentenced

A man has been sentenced after he “repeatedly and persistently” encouraged a vulnerable woman he met online to kill herself.

Tyler Webb, 23, connected with his victim on social media before asking the woman, who cannot be named, to harm herself for his own “sexual gratification”.

Police said the victim’s bravery was “profound” in reporting the offence, which led to Webb being the first person in the country to be charged with encouraging serious self-harm online under section 184 of the Online Safety Act 2023.

Webb was given a hybrid order of nine years and four months, which will see him detained at a mental health facility and if deemed fit to leave, he will serve the remainder in prison.

Although Webb being charged was a legal first, the Crown Prosecution (CPS) said other cases brought since then had already concluded.

Webb, of King Crescent South in Loughborough, Leicestershire, admitted encouraging suicide and one count of encouraging or assisting someone to seriously self-harm at a hearing in May.

Alex Johnson, from the CPS, described the case as a “watershed prosecution” and said “as far as he is aware”, this is the only case this offence has been used to prosecute someone targeting a vulnerable person via social media.

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At Leicester Crown Court on Friday, prosecutor Louise Oakley said Webb first met the victim on a social media forum – where mental health difficulties were being discussed – and, after their contact, started encouraging her to harm herself on the Telegram messaging app.

He then asked her to send him pictures of injuries, and the court heard he would use them for his own sexual pleasure.

Webb later encouraged her to kill herself and told her to carry out the attempt on a video call so he could watch.

During a 44-minute call on 2 July last year, Webb made persistent efforts to get her to end her own life and, when it become apparent she would not do so, he said he would block further contact with her.

She reported what had happened to police the next day and he was arrested at his home on 10 July.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by the prosecution, the woman said: “He tried to kill me, not with his hands, but with his words.”

She added: “I do not want to call this encouraging serious self harm and 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 encourage self-harm in passing, he instructed me on what to do and how to do it.”

The statement added Webb was “cruel by choice” and had “no turmoil while torturing me”.

“There will never be another second on this earth where I don’t have to live with the pain of what happened,” she said.

The court was told Webb has had a “severe” autistic disorder since a young age, as well as borderline personality disorder, anxiety and depressive disorder.

Defence barrister Joey Kwong told the court that Webb has “struggled significantly” with his mental health all his life but is “finally” being treated in hospital after being transferred from prison.

The court also heard that Webb has no previous convictions and was of previous good character. He also received full credit for his guilty pleas.

Leicestershire Police said the victim was able to collect a “significant amount” of evidence including audio recordings, screenshots and photos of her injuries.

Mr Johnson told the BBC the CPS obtained an audio recording in which Tyler Webb “repeatedly and persistently” encouraged the victim to kill herself.

He said: “I think that this sort of offending is particularly disturbing because of the way it targets people who should be safe within their own homes.

“I think the case and the conviction shows the police and prosecution won’t hesitate to use any legal tool to stop those who are determined to cause harm in this sort of way.”

Mr Johnson said the victim provided “irrefutable evidence” of the offences committed and praised her “courage” in coming forward to the police.

“If she had not done that, Tyler Webb would never have been identified, arrested or brought to justice for this offending,” he added.

“He would have remained at liberty and he would have been free to target other vulnerable people through social media.

Det Con Lauren Hampton, from Leicestershire Police, said the case was “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 online forum for help and support,” she added.

“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.”

She described the case as one of the “most harrowing” she had seen in her career and praised the “courage and strength” of the victim.

Det Con Hampton added: “I want to thank her for coming forward and reporting to police the despicable behaviour of Webb.

“Her actions have undoubtedly safeguarded other vulnerable people from being targeted.”