By Amelia Clarke
Tyler Webb, 23, repeatedly told his victim to kill herself during weeks of what she called 鈥榗alculated psychological violence鈥 (Picture: PA/Leicestershire Police)
A man who urged a vulnerable woman to self-harm and end her own life for his own warped sexual thrills has been jailed for nine years.
Tyler Webb, 23, repeatedly told his victim to kill herself during weeks of what she called 鈥榗alculated psychological violence鈥 because he wanted to watch her die on a video call.
He became 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 pleaded guilty in May to that charge and a separate charge of encouraging suicide between June 22 and July 11 last year.
Judge Timothy Spencer KC imposed a hybrid order, meaning he will begin his sentence in hospital until he is deemed fit for prison.
He told Webb: 鈥榊our persuasion extended over a substantial period of time. The two of you were not in any sort of suicide pact 鈥 it was always you hang yourself for my pleasure.鈥
Webb was the first person in the country to be charged with encouraging serious self-harm online under Section 184 of the Online Safety Act 2023 (Picture: Leicestershire Police/PA Wire)
Webb, with long black hair and wearing a blue t-shirt, sat in the dock with his head bowed down and hands clasped over his ears before hiding underneath his chair, where he remained for most of the hearing.
The victim, who cannot be named, contacted police in July 2024 because she feared Webb would encourage someone else to harm themselves after he asked her to 鈥榮acrifice鈥 herself.
She said Webb put her through a period of 鈥榗alculated psychological violence鈥 because he wanted to watch her kill herself.
She met Webb on a Reddit forum where users shared mental health support. They then began to video call on the messaging app Telegram and their conversations turned 鈥榙ark in nature鈥.
Prosecutor Louise Oakley told the Leicester Crown Court when Webb encouraged her to harm herself, 鈥榠n [the victim鈥檚] words, he loved it. Tyler Webb told her it turned him on.
鈥楬e told her he wanted her to do it during a video call so he could watch. He would berate her and say she had nothing to live for and she should die.鈥
Webb once watched the woman make an attempt on her life and when it failed, told her to try again, the court heard.
Ms Oakley told the court Webb鈥檚 offending was pre-meditated, persistent and extensive: 鈥楬e pressurised her and was at times unpleasant.
鈥業mportantly, it appears he was sexually motivated and genuinely wanted to see her die. He knew her vulnerabilities, her previous traumas and knew she had previously attempted suicide.鈥
The prosecutor also said he refused to turn his own camera on during the video calls, suggesting he knew that 鈥榳hat he was doing was wrong and he was in effect looking out for himself, not her鈥.
Webb鈥檚 was sentenced to nine years in prison (Picture: Leicestershire Police)
In a victim impact statement read to the court by the prosecutor, the woman wrote: 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to call this encouraging serious self-harm or suicide, I want to call this what it is 鈥 an attempted murder through psychological means.
鈥榃hat Tyler did was not a mistake, it was calculated psychological violence. He didn鈥檛 try to kill me with his hands but with his words.
鈥楬e had no turmoil while torturing me. He told me that my only value was in dying for his entertainment.
鈥業鈥檓 alive, but the life I have left is altered forever. My life is ruined 鈥 my mind and body have been severely damaged.鈥
Defence barrister Joey Kwong said Webb was struggling with his own mental health and 鈥榳rongly he adopted such warped behaviour and distorted thinking鈥 from content he saw online.
The court heard Web鈥漵 several diagnoses 鈥 including autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and anxiety and depressive disorders 鈥 had a 鈥榮ignificant impact on his life鈥.
Dr Ajith Gurusinghe, a clinician who has been treating Webb in hospital because he is 鈥榰nable to cope in the prison regime鈥, said the defendant had shown 鈥榮ome remorse but not completely鈥.
Webb鈥檚 Reddit profile was identified and a review of the account revealed several female anime or gaming characters in various erotic poses with fatal injuries.
Detective Constable Lauren Hampton, of Leicester Police, said: 鈥楾his case is not only truly shocking but also deeply concerning.
鈥榃ebb preyed upon a vulnerable woman at a time when she was reaching out to people in an online forum for help and support.
鈥楬e quickly gained her trust and then he began with his barrage of vile requests 鈥 all the time knowing that what he was telling her to do could result in her ending her own life.
鈥楾hankfully, this did not happen, and the victim was able to report what had happened.鈥
Alex Johnson, a specialist crown prosecutor in the Special Crime Division of the CPS, said: 鈥楾yler Webb contacted a vulnerable woman online and encouraged her to commit serious self-harm and to end her life by hanging.
鈥楬e knew she was vulnerable and would act on his requests but went ahead with his persistent requests knowing she may well die.
鈥楩ortunately, his repeated and insistent suggestions did not result in a death.鈥
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