Pervert posed as his own sister and a schoolboy to dupe and abuse young girls in Derbyshire

'Serial liar' Anthony Lonsdale pursued 'a determined campaign of subterfuge' to achieve what he wanted, Judge Stuart Raffery KC said before jailing him for seven years at Nottingham Crown Court, on Thursday.

Adrian Amer, prosecuting, said Lonsdale dressed in a school uniform and provided an 'elaborate but untrue account of his background,' when he turned up 'out of the blue,' claiming to be a newly-enrolled pupil at a school in the Ilkeston area.

But analysis of his phone revealed indecent images of a 12-year-old girl, and showed he sent her sexualised messages along with pictures of his penis.

Posing as his own sister 'Tia' on Instagram and Snapchat, Lonsdale also communicated with a 13-year-old girl in the Mansfield area and asked her to send him naked pictures of herself, even threatening to 'slice her wrists' if his demands weren't met.

After meeting with the girl at McDonalds, disguised as a female friend, Lonsdale tried to contact the girl's younger sister. Using other false online identities, he berated the girl for blocking his messages and told her 'Tia' had attempted suicide and was going to die.

More offences came to light when Lonsdale called the police saying he felt suicidal while on bail. Phone analysis showed ‘conversations with multiple teenage girls’ and nude pictures.

He visited the Mansfield area dressed as a teenage girl to meet a 14-year-old girl in a park.

He said he had no money to get home and asked her to convince her mum to let him stay overnight. The girl's mum knew Lonsdale was a boy, despite being told 'Tia was self-conscious about her voice,' but accepted his ‘sob story’ and allowed him to stay in a separate bedroom while monitoring the landing with CCTV.

When police arrested him for the second time, Lonsdale denied providing false names, ages and genders, and said he used the name 'Tony' and was aged 20. He said he had considered identifying as a female in the past.

In a statement, the girl described her emotional distress at being ‘manipulated and tricked’, and embarrassment and shame.

Matthew Smith, mitigating, said Lonsdale, of previous good character, denies a sexual interest in children. He is on the autistic spectrum and would be vulnerable in prison.

Judge Rafferty ruled Lonsdale must serve at least two thirds of his sentence behind bars before he can be considered for parole, with an extended licence of three years on release. A sexual harm prevention order was imposed and restraining orders were made banning him from contacting his victims for the next five years.

The judge told him: "You were expecting sexual contact with them and probably a full sexual relationship.

"All of these children have been marked by you – and if you had been able to, you would have marked them even more.

"I don't think you're sorry. I think you're thinking about what you're going to do next. "

Lonsdale, of Uxendon Crescent, Wembley, London, admitted eight counts, including grooming and possession of child porn, in October 2022.