Today, Wednesday, 20th May, 2026, at Dungannon Crown Court, 22-year-old Cameron Mullen from Kilrea, has been sentenced to two years and four months for seven counts of online child sexual offences. He will also be subjected to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for ten years. The charges included; sexual communication with a child, adult causing or inciting child between 13 and 16 to engage in sexual activity, incitement to distribute indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child and adult causing a child to watch a sexual act.
In early January 2025 police received a report from a parent in the Mid Ulster area regarding an individual who they believed was making sexual communications with their child via the internet. Rapid enquiries conducted enabled a suspect to be identified and Cameron Mullen was arrested days later on suspicion of carrying out a number of offences. He was then charged to court after interview. Mobile phone triage identified that he had contacted a number of young teenage boys via Instagram. A file was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service and prosecution directed in respect of three victims, who were under the age of 16 at the time of the offending.
Detective Chief Inspector David McBurney said: “This case demonstrates how offenders can use online platforms to gain a child’s trust before quickly steering conversations to a sexual nature to satisfy their own sexual perversions.
“It is sickening that we are seeing younger and younger offenders in this space. Mullen deliberately built a rapport with these young boys before rapidly turning the conversation and this is a common tactic that we are seeing by those who seek to exploit young people in our communities.
“This behaviour is manipulative and predatory, and it will not be tolerated. Protecting children and young people from sexual exploitation remains a top priority for us and we will continue to robustly pursue those who seek to harm children online.
“We continue to urge parents and guardians to remain vigilant about their children’s online activity and to encourage open conversations about staying safe online. Anyone who believes a child may be at risk should report their concerns to police so we can take action as we did in this case.
“Let this serve as another warning to those perpetrating child sexual abuse in our communities, we are working every day to break down reporting barriers and encourage victims to come forward. You will be caught, your lies uncovered and you will face the full force of the law.”
Speaking out to encourage other parents to remain vigilant and report any concerns, a parent of one of the victims in this case has said:
“It is every parent’s worst nightmare to experience what I did. It hurt me immensely to see my child stripped entirely of his innocence whilst the perpetrator preyed onto him and tortured him, both mentally and psychologically. He was continually coerced to show indecent images and be shown explicit content. Please be vigilant if your child has a smartphone as we often believe they are safe. The internet is not a safe place and it can have detrimental consequences if your own child is subjected to what my child seen and was asked to do. It could prove to have fatal consequences given the nature of these conversations and images that they are subjected to. Safeguarding our children is paramount from these predators attacking another innocent child and possibly leaving devastating consequences.”