A convicted paedophile pretended to be a 15-year-old girl to trick a young boy into sending explicit videos before making sexual bets.

Joshua Neves, of Broughton, used Snapchat to convince the 14-year-old victim he was a teenager called Shannon and even introduced him to ‘her brother’, another account he was controlling.

The 26-year-old told the boy, who thought they were in a relationship, that they were likely to have sex and arranged to meet up in Cheshire – only to cancel when told that a relative of the victim would be bringing him.

Yesterday (Monday) Neves, who has a number of previous convictions, was handed an extended prison sentence after a judge deemed him to be dangerous.

Northampton Crown Court heard the victim began speaking to what he thought was a 15-year-old girl in the spring of 2021, messaging via online gaming for weeks. Eventually they became ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’, communicating online only.

Neves, under the guise of ‘Shannon’, asked him for nude images and initiated sexual conversations, with the boy sending explicit pictures and videos back.

As part of the narrative the boy was introduced to ‘Josh’, another profile controlled by Neves, who ‘Shannon’ said was her brother and the pair developed a strong bond.

Neves, of Dawkins Court, would use his ‘Shannon’ profile to set up gaming bets with the boy. The boy was told that if he won he got whatever he wanted from ‘her’, but that if he lost he would have to submit to sexual acts.

The paedophile arranged to meet his victim but cancelled when a family member of the boy said he would go with him. That relative then found sexually explicit messages and images from ‘Shannon’ on the boy’s phone and reported it to police, who traced it to Neves.

The court heard that he admitted making a fake profile in order to groom boys and searching for indecent images. He admitted having a sexual interest in boys aged between five and 15.

Neves went on to plead guilty to causing or inciting a boy aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual communication with a child, possessing a prohibited image of a child, three counts of making indecent images and videos of a child (one count each of category A, B and C), and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

In 2022 – after these offences took place but before he was prosecuted for them – Neves was jailed after being caught with vile child abuse images for a second time.

Yesterday Neves was handed an extended sentence of four years in prison with five years of extended licence. He will also be on the sex offender register and subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.

Investigating officer PC Charlotte Carden said: “The bravery of the survivor in supporting our investigation is remarkable, and I am so pleased that we now have a robust custodial sentence which reflects the harm Joshua Neves caused.

“He went to great lengths to groom this boy in order to sexually abuse him, convincing him that he was in a relationship with a girl his own age to coerce him into sharing photos and videos he would otherwise never have sent.

“Neves was an adult who took sexual advantage of a child, abusing his trust and exploiting him emotionally for his own sexual gratification.

“The fact the offending was carried out online does not lessen the harm and distress he caused and I hope this outcome helps the victim survivor to continue to recover and move forward positively.

“This case also demonstrates the need for parents and guardians to have open and ongoing conversations with their children about who they are talking to online – without this family’s vigilance Neves would no doubt have continued his abuse.

“Northamptonshire Police takes all forms of sexual abuse very seriously and we will do all we can to secure justice for survivors.”