Latest news with #OnlineSafetyAct2023
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Conor McGregor accused of sending unsolicited nudes and threats to Azealia Banks in viral meltdown
American rapper Azealia Banks has publicly accused former UFC champion Conor McGregor of sending her unsolicited explicit images, sparking widespread attention and backlash online. The controversy unfolded on Monday when Banks, known for her unfiltered online persona, posted screenshots on X (formerly Twitter) that she claimed were direct messages from McGregor, including two graphic mirror selfies. -X. In the posts, Banks alleged that McGregor not only sent her 'crooked' nude images but also attempted to silence her with threats. One of the alleged messages read, 'Don't be a rat cos all rats get caught,' alongside a full-frontal nude image of the Irish fighter captioned 'Lifting weights.' -X. 'How you gonna send a btch some crooked dck pics then threaten her not to tell,' Banks wrote, tagging McGregor's official X account. '@TheNotoriousMMA n**** do you know who the f**k I am? This is HARAM,' she added, referencing the Islamic term for something forbidden. Banks, 34, further criticised McGregor's ambitions to enter politics, mocking his recent public statements about potentially running for president of Ireland. 'Honey… ain't u trying to be the president of Ireland? What is it giving fam? Use some f***ing sunscreen, damn,' she wrote. -X. Conor McGregor 4 President 🇮🇪 — Azealia Banks (@azealiaslacewig) July 14, 2025 McGregor, who turned 36 on the same day the allegations surfaced, reportedly deleted the messages and unfollowed Banks shortly after the posts went viral. Social media reaction was swift, with many users condemning McGregor's alleged actions and referencing the UK's Online Safety Act 2023, which criminalises sharing non-consensual explicit content. This incident adds to McGregor's history of legal and behavioural controversies. Earlier this year, he was ordered to pay €200,000 in damages to a woman in Ireland who accused him of rape. He is also facing a separate sexual assault lawsuit in the United States stemming from an alleged incident in a Miami arena restroom. McGregor has not publicly responded to Banks' claims. As the posts continue to circulate online, legal experts and advocacy groups have raised concerns about potential violations of privacy and online safety laws. Both parties have a history of public feuds, but the latest episode has reignited conversations around consent, power dynamics, and the consequences of celebrity misconduct in digital spaces.
ITV News
10-07-2025
- ITV News
Loughborough man jailed after becoming first in country charged with encouraging serious self-harm
"I've got kittens upstairs." Tyler Webb's first words after he was arrested for preying on a vulnerable woman. Credit: Leicestershire Police A 23-year-old man has been jailed after becoming the first person in the country to be charged with encouraging serious self harm. Tyler Webb, from Loughborough, was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court after he preyed on a vulnerable woman and urged her repeatedly to take her own life. During a six-week period, Webb told the 21-year-old women, who he met on an online suicide support forum, to harm herself and then to kill herself while he watched during a video call. Detectives from Leicestershire Police began investigating Webb after the victim initially made a report to her local force in July 2024. Following enquiries, he was identified and arrested from his home address in Loughborough. A landmark sentencing Webb, of King Crescent South, was charged with a new offence under Section 184 of the Online Safety Act 2023. The case was a legal first, with Webb becoming the first person in the country to be charged with encouraging serious self-harm online. He was arrested 12 months ago and later admitted to that charge and a charge of encouraging suicide. Judge Timothy Spencer sentenced Webb to a hybrid order under section 45A of the Mental Health Act. He was sentenced to nine years and four months subject to a hospital order. "He tried to kill me - not with his hands but with his words." Following Webb's sentencing, the victim, who cannot be identified, released a statement: "Explaining the pain and suffering Tyler Webb has caused me won't make him feel guilty for what he has done, it is likely to cause him satisfaction and pleasure, but I want to explain the lasting impact this has had on me. "The new law may call this encouraging serious suicide and serious self-harm. I want to call it what it is – attempted murder through psychological means. "What Tyler did to me was not a mistake. It was calculated psychological violence. He didn't encourage self-harm in passing, he instructed me on what to do and how to do it. "He watched and enjoyed it, even when I was doing things to my own body I did not want to do. If I resisted he threatened to abandon me and reminded me of any reason he could think of as to why I deserved it. He told me my only value was in dying for his entertainment. 'The fact that I survived does not lessen the gravity of what he did. I survived but that does not change the fact he tried to kill me – not with his hands but with his words. 'This case may set a precedent under new law, but it also sets a moral benchmark. How we respond will signal what kind of society we are. 'I didn't die, the outcome wasn't fatal – but that's only down to pure fate. 'After my attempts Tyler expressed disappointment that I didn't die. He asked me to try again. He continued even after serious harm occurred and he knew I had been hospitalised. I have scars on my arm that will never go away. I am alive, but the life I have left is altered forever. 'No one can say he didn't understand the consequences of what he was doing. I had suggested trying to help him by faking scenarios to get his obsession out of his system. "He said he had watched fake deaths and they didn't work for him anymore and he needed me to do it for real. I am certain he would do it again to someone else without hesitation if given the opportunity. 'Some people may blame me but don't forget we met in a suicide support forum where I was asking for help. Tyler entered that space – a place full of vulnerable people – with the intention of pushing someone over the edge for his own pleasure. Anyone could go online looking for support and find someone like Tyler. 'There will never be another second on this earth where I don't have to live with the pain of what happened. My mind and body have been severely damaged. I think about it every day.'
Metro
05-07-2025
- Metro
Man who urged vulnerable woman to kill herself so he could watch is jailed
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 'calculated psychological violence' 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: 'Your persuasion extended over a substantial period of time. The two of you were not in any sort of suicide pact – it was always you hang yourself for my pleasure.' 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 'sacrifice' herself. She said Webb put her through a period of 'calculated psychological violence' 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 'dark in nature'. Prosecutor Louise Oakley told the Leicester Crown Court when Webb encouraged her to harm herself, 'in [the victim's] words, he loved it. Tyler Webb told her it turned him on. 'He 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.' 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's offending was pre-meditated, persistent and extensive: 'He pressurised her and was at times unpleasant. 'Importantly, 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.' The prosecutor also said he refused to turn his own camera on during the video calls, suggesting he knew that 'what he was doing was wrong and he was in effect looking out for himself, not her'. In a victim impact statement read to the court by the prosecutor, the woman wrote: 'I don't want to call this encouraging serious self-harm or suicide, I want to call this what it is – an attempted murder through psychological means. 'What Tyler did was not a mistake, it was calculated psychological violence. He didn't try to kill me with his hands but with his words. 'He had no turmoil while torturing me. He told me that my only value was in dying for his entertainment. 'I'm alive, but the life I have left is altered forever. My life is ruined – my mind and body have been severely damaged.' Defence barrister Joey Kwong said Webb was struggling with his own mental health and 'wrongly he adopted such warped behaviour and distorted thinking' from content he saw online. The court heard Web's several diagnoses – including autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and anxiety and depressive disorders – had a 'significant impact on his life'. Dr Ajith Gurusinghe, a clinician who has been treating Webb in hospital because he is 'unable to cope in the prison regime', said the defendant had shown 'some remorse but not completely'. Webb's 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: 'This case is not only truly shocking but also deeply concerning. 'Webb preyed upon a vulnerable woman at a time when she was reaching out to people in an online forum for help and support. 'He quickly gained her trust and then he began with his barrage of vile requests – all the time knowing that what he was telling her to do could result in her ending her own life. More Trending 'Thankfully, this did not happen, and the victim was able to report what had happened.' Alex Johnson, a specialist crown prosecutor in the Special Crime Division of the CPS, said: 'Tyler Webb contacted a vulnerable woman online and encouraged her to commit serious self-harm and to end her life by hanging. 'He knew she was vulnerable and would act on his requests but went ahead with his persistent requests knowing she may well die. 'Fortunately, his repeated and insistent suggestions did not result in a death.' Samaritans are here to listen, day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email jo@ or visit for more information. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: 'Mum stabs her three children killing one and sets home on fire' MORE: Quick-thinking man buys two 99s from an ice cream van stuck in traffic MORE: Brothers 'used high level of violence' to assault police at Manchester Airport, court hears
Scottish Sun
04-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Fiend who urged vulnerable woman to attempt suicide in video calls for his sexual pleasure is jailed in landmark case
BEHIND BARS Fiend who urged vulnerable woman to attempt suicide in video calls for his sexual pleasure is jailed in landmark case Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A FIEND who urged a vulnerable woman to attempt suicide in video calls for his sexual pleasure has been jailed in a landmark case. Tyler Webb met his victim, who was then aged 21, in an online forum dedicated to mental health and began grooming her. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up The 23-year-old persuaded the woman to seriously self-harm and convinced her to send a photograph of her injuries. Webb also tried to convince his victim to take her own life in a video call but the suicide attempt failed. He has now been jailed for nine years and four months but was handed a hybrid order, meaning he will begin his sentence in hospital until he is deemed fit for prison. 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. He pleaded guilty to that charge and a separate charge of encouraging suicide between June 22 and July 11 last year. Judge Timothy Spencer KC agreed that "very largely" Webb was motivated by sexual gratification. Leicester Crown Court heard after the pair first met on the forum, they began using the Telegram app for "dark" conversations. Over a six-week period, Webb repeatedly told her she had nothing to live for and gave her methods to take her own life. In one 44-minute phone call, he persistently tried to get the woman to kill herself. When she made clear she was not going to do so, Webb then threatened to move on to another woman instead. Prosecutor Louise Oakley said that when Webb encouraged her to harm herself, "in (the victim's) words, he loved it. Tyler Webb told her it turned him on". She continued: "He 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." After the woman's failed suicide attempt, she contacted police as she feared Webb would persuade someone else to harm themself. Webb was arrested a week later at his home in Loughborough in July 2024. Police found his user profile on Reddit - called u/EmpathicNarcissist - that showed disturbing images of anime characters with fatal injuries. In a victim impact statement, the woman said: "I don't want to call this encouraging serious self-harm or suicide, I want to call this what it is - an attempted murder through psychological means. "What Tyler did was not a mistake, it was calculated psychological violence. He didn't try to kill me with his hands but with his words. "He had no turmoil while torturing me. He told me that my only value was in dying for his entertainment. "I'm alive, but the life I have left is altered forever. My life is ruined - my mind and body have been severely damaged." The court heard Webb has been diagnosed with mental health disorders including autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and anxiety and depressive disorders. His defence barrister Joey Kwong said Webb was in a "dark time" with his mental health and "wrongly he adopted such warped behaviour and distorted thinking" from material he saw online. You're Not Alone EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers. It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes. And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women. Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now. That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign. The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives. Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You're Not Alone. If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support: CALM, 0800 585 858 Heads Together, HUMEN Mind, 0300 123 3393 Papyrus, 0800 068 41 41 Samaritans, 116 123 Detective Constable Lauren Hampton, of Leicestershire Police, said: "This case is not only truly shocking but also deeply concerning. "Webb preyed upon a vulnerable woman at a time when she was reaching out to people in an online forum for help and support. "He quickly gained her trust and then he began with his barrage of vile requests - all the time knowing that what he was telling her to do could result in her ending her own life. "Thankfully, this did not happen, and the victim was able to report what had happened." If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.
The Irish Sun
04-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Fiend who urged vulnerable woman to attempt suicide in video calls for his sexual pleasure is jailed in landmark case
A FIEND who urged a vulnerable woman to attempt suicide in video calls for his sexual pleasure has been jailed in a landmark case. Tyler Webb met his victim, who was then aged 21, in an online forum dedicated to mental health and began grooming her. Advertisement The 23-year-old persuaded the woman to seriously self-harm and convinced her to send a photograph of her injuries. Webb also tried to convince his victim to take her own life in a video call but the suicide attempt failed. He has now been jailed for nine years and four months but was handed a hybrid order, meaning he will begin his sentence in hospital until he is deemed fit for prison. 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. Advertisement Read more news He pleaded guilty to that charge and a separate charge of encouraging suicide between June 22 and July 11 last year. Judge Timothy Spencer KC agreed that "very largely" Webb was motivated by sexual gratification. Leicester Crown Court heard after the pair first met on the forum, they began using the Telegram app for "dark" conversations. Over a six-week period, Webb repeatedly told her she had nothing to live for and gave her methods to take her own life. Advertisement Most read in The Sun In one 44-minute phone call, he persistently tried to get the woman to kill herself. When she made clear she was not going to do so, Webb then threatened to move on to another woman instead. Prosecutor Louise Oakley said that when Webb encouraged her to harm herself, "in (the victim's) words, he loved it. Tyler Webb told her it turned him on". She continued: "He told her he wanted her to do it during a video call so he could watch. Advertisement "He would berate her and say she had nothing to live for and she should die." After the woman's failed suicide attempt, she contacted police as she feared Webb would persuade someone else to harm themself. Webb was arrested a week later at his home in Loughborough in July 2024. Police found his user profile on Reddit - called u/EmpathicNarcissist - that showed disturbing images of anime characters with fatal injuries. Advertisement In a victim impact statement, the woman said: "I don't want to call this encouraging serious self-harm or suicide, I want to call this what it is - an attempted murder through psychological means. "What Tyler did was not a mistake, it was calculated psychological violence. He didn't try to kill me with his hands but with his words. "He had no turmoil while torturing me. He told me that my only value was in dying for his entertainment. "I'm alive, but the life I have left is altered forever. My life is ruined - my mind and body have been severely damaged." Advertisement The court heard Webb has been diagnosed with mental health disorders including autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and anxiety and depressive disorders. His defence barrister Joey Kwong said Webb was in a "dark time" with his mental health and "wrongly he adopted such warped behaviour and distorted thinking" from material he saw online. You're Not Alone EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers. It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes. And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women. Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now. That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign. The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives. Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support: CALM, Heads Together, HUMEN Mind, Papyrus, Samaritans, Detective Constable Lauren Hampton, of Leicestershire Police, said: "This case is not only truly shocking but also deeply concerning. "Webb preyed upon a vulnerable woman at a time when she was reaching out to people in an online forum for help and support. Advertisement "He quickly gained her trust and then he began with his barrage of vile requests - all the time knowing that what he was telling her to do could result in her ending her own life. "Thankfully, this did not happen, and the victim was able to report what had happened." If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123. 1 Tyler Webb has been jailed in the first case of its kind Credit: PA Advertisement
