Oldham sex offender jailed for blackmailing schoolgirls online
Ryan Greenhow has been jailed for over seven years
A man from Oldham has been jailed after being found guilty of 22 child sex offences that targeted young victims across the country.
Ryan Greenhow has been handed seven years and four months behind bars.
His crimes occurred between November 2024 and March 2025, during which he contacted six victims aged between 12 and 15 using social media platforms including TikTok and Snapchat.
The 37-year-old blackmailed the victims into sending him indecent images after sending them a naked image, falsely claiming it was them and threatening to distribute it to their friends and family.
Victims of Greenhow's activities were located in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Buckinghamshire.
Some victims reported the activity to parents, carers, and school teachers.
Between April 2023 and May 2025, Snapchat was noted as the social media platform most involved in child sexual offences in Greater Manchester, accounting for 61% of cases.
Furthermore, local authorities reported 49% of online offenders in the region were strangers to the victims, and 22% of child sexual abuse cases in 2023/2024 were online, exceeding the national average of 20%.
In addition to his prison sentence, Greenhow will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Detective Constable Adair from the City of Manchester Division thanked the victims for coming forward and outlined Greenhow's method of using social media when committing offences.
Adair reinforced the police force's commitment to tackling child sexual exploitation, offering support to anyone who may have been a victim.