YouTuber jailed for child sex offences involving 'repulsive' incident involving cake he gave to child
A YouTuber has been jailed over child sex offences including performing a sex act over a slice of cake he gave a girl.
Karl Ball was jailed for 32 months yesterday at Wolverhampton Crown Court after admitting several child sexual offences.
The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, two counts of sexual assault on a female and two counts of causing or inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity.
The Crown Prosecution Service said Ball, who runs a YouTube channel about magnet fishing, used social media to groom his 14-year-old victim.
In messages he sent to the victim, Ball used sexualised language, and sent various messages referring to sexual intercourse and what he would do to the child.
He also sent sexually explicit photos and encouraged the victim to send naked photos of herself, although she refused to send him any explicit photos.
When he met the child, he touched her inappropriately and sexually assaulted her before giving her what he called a "special cake".
The victim ate some of the cake when she got home but found it tasted strange and when she told the defendant he admitted what he had done.
The victim felt disgusted by this and put the cake in the bin.
His offending came to light after the victim’s parents saw the messages on her phone and reported the matter to the police.
The police found Ball’s DNA on the "special cake" after remnants of it were retrieved from the bin and forensically analysed.
Ball, of Simmons Drive, Birmingham, appeared before Dudley Magistrates’ Court on May 2, 2023 and pleaded guilty to all offences.
Cagin Husnu, of the CPS, said: “The crimes committed by Karl Ball in this case are abhorrent – and the fact that his offending culminated in him giving her a ‘special’ cake is simply repulsive.
"No one in our society, let alone children, should be treated in such a degrading manner and it is our aim to ensure that we work collaboratively with the police to ensure that offenders are held accountable for their crimes.”
He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, and a restraining order for 10 years barring him from contacting the child and her family.
