Mum's horror after checking daughter's phone and finding every parent's worst nightmare

After an agonising four-year wait, she has finally seen justice

A mum was left horrified after checking her daughter's phone to find every parent's worst nightmare.

The woman - who must not be named for legal reasons - knew something was wrong when her 11-year-old daughter's behaviour changed. After taking her phone from her, she found that she had been targeted by an online predator.

On the girl's Snapchat account was "inappropriate" messages from predator Tom Spears, who had told her he was 16, ChronicleLive reports. Spears, from North Broomhill near Amble in Northumberland in the UK, requested indecent images of the girl and sent images of himself.

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The girl's mother managed to find his other social media accounts and reported him to police. After a four-year wait for justice, earlier this week, Spears was finally jailed. He was put behind bars for three years. Speaking out about the terrifying ordeal, the woman said: "He had told her he was based in America.

"I got in contact with the police and they came out and said because it's Snapchat it's encrypted so they couldn't prosecute. I could tell them every other social media account and she said because I had proved how I had done it, they could take it further, which made me feel better.

"We went to the police station and my daughter had a video interview. It was only a couple of days after the police had come to speak to us. A couple of weeks later they arrested him."

Spears, now 24, pleaded guilty to inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and engaging in sexual communication with a child. The woman said: "They said she didn't have to go and give evidence, which was a relief for me." The woman said she went to court on the day Spears was jailed and said it was "just so surreal".

She added: "The police and barrister had said cases like these usually get suspended sentences so to be prepared he could walk away from court. But the judge was really, really good."

The woman said her daughter - who is now 15 - has struggled with her mental health and has been through anxiety and depression since Spears targeted her. She said: "It was just four years of us battling through. It's just not there no more. It doesn't feel like I won because it's been that long and doesn't change the outcome but it needed to be done for her so I could get her the help she needed."

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