A MAN who threatened to hack and distribute the personal computer files of young teenage girls unless they exposed themselves to him over a webcam has been jailed for five years.

Rowan Dickinson, 26, of Gaddum Road, Manchester pleaded guilty in a previous hearing at Manchester Crown Court to 10 counts of making indecent images of children and four charges of inciting a child to commit a sexual act.

In August 2013, police received intelligence that a man known as "James" had contacted a 13-year-old girl on Skype and said that in exchange for her performing sexual acts on webcam he would offer her protection from another user who was asking her to do the same.

He told her that if she did not continue to do what he asked then he would no longer protect her from the other user who would then kidnap her and force her into prostitution.

Based on information from the victim, officers were able to trace the user back to an address in Didsbury where Dickinson was arrested and a number of his personal electronic devices were seized.

Forensic examination of the devices found a number of indecent images of children and explicit communication logs with juveniles of varying ages, which showed Dickinson threatening to hack his victims' personal files and distribute them amongst their family and friends unless they gave in to his demands.

Officers were able to identify two of his victims and both agreed to assist with the investigation.

They were both 13 years old at the time the offences took place, said police.

Following sentencing, Pc Sarah Collins said: "Rowan Dickinson used the internet as a hunting ground and preyed on these young girls, threatening them until they gave in to his demands.

"This has been a long and tough investigation which has been quite emotionally draining for all involved. I hope the sentence passed today can go some way to giving the victims some closure.

"I would like to pay tribute to the victims and their families who assisted us with this investigation, I know it was very tough for them but their help played a huge part in getting this sentence passed today."