This case is linked to a Com group – a violent collective that uses mainstream social media platforms to manipulate and blackmail girls into harming and abusing themselves.
Often, the police say, this is done by the group for “kudos”, or clout, from their peers.
On the screen, one image show a young girl’s arm covered in blood. Another shows blood used to daub a symbol on to a bathroom wall.
Paul alleges the girl in the case was directed to harm herself by someone she met online – understood to be a young male in Scotland.
“Usually, it’s a young girl in these particular cases,” Craig said. “We’re finding a lot of vulnerable young girls that are between 11 and 17.
“Unfortunately, we discover down the line that there are other vulnerabilities that [perpetrators] are exploiting.”
Among the pictures are occult or Satanic sigils, a way for the abusers to appear “as extreme as possible”, says Craig.
He continues: “It’s very common, but I don’t think they believe these Satanic things.
“With these particular groups anyway, it’s about how extreme, how much exploitation can you inflict on an individual.
“It’s about how much control you can get, up to the point that they’re getting them to self-harm.”
