A teenager, from Great Wyrley, has been jailed after a tireless effort from Staffordshire Police's Online Investigations Team (POLIT) to secure his prosecution.

McKenzie Winkle, 18, was jailed for three years and nine months at Stafford Crown Court earlier today (16 June).

This comes after he pleaded guilty to two counts of encouraging serious self-harm by another, two counts of attempting to cause / incite a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, three counts of making an indecent photograph / pseudo-photograph of a child and one count of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Winkle has been on remand in custody for more than seven months after first appearing in court in October 2025.

Police investigations found that the teenager was operating as part of a Com group.

Staffordshire Police said: "Typically, these are networks of people who carry out serious, high-harm offences against other young people they find online.

"Com group offenders, who are often under 18, can use grooming and exploitation tactics to coerce online victims into committing the acts.

"Com group offenders are known to compete against each other to cause the highest harm to victims to gain notoriety.

advertisement

"This involves encouraging offences of child sexual abuse, serious violence, cybercrime and extremism."

Officers were able to compile evidence and put a case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) meaning Winkle could be quickly apprehended and prevented from causing more harm to victims online who could have been located anywhere in the world.

This is the first victimless prosecution of its kind in the Midlands.

After working with the National Crime Agency, officers were able to arrest Winkle at his home address on 1 August 2025.

His digital devices were seized and forensically examined, revealing the extent of his offending.

As part of his sentencing, Winkle has been put on the Sex Offenders Register for life and given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Detective Inspector Alex Glover, from POLIT, said: "The damage that these Com groups are capable of is staggering, and I'm pleased that we've been able to build a case which has resulted in an offender being brought to justice in Staffordshire.

"I can assure local communities that we are working tirelessly, night and day, 365-days a year to identify those responsible for harm online, and in particular, those who may be part of these Com groups or committing similar offences.

advertisement

"What is clear to see, however, is that there is a clear role for everyone to play in keeping people safe online.

"Spotting the signs that someone may be engaging with harmful people online as early as possible may be the difference between stopping them from being exploited.

"This can be anything from unexplained injuries which appear to be inflicted by themselves, a reluctance to stop speaking to certain users online and possession of extremist symbols.

"We have been robust in our investigation and pursuit of this offender, and I can assure people in Staffordshire that we will continue to take the same approach to anyone who is found to be committing these offences.

"We have a range of tools and tactics at our disposal to find the people who are doing this, and we won't stop until we are able to stop them."