Why was Danny Tetley jailed and how long is his prison sentence?
FORMER X Factor star Danny Tetley was jailed for exploiting children.
The singer, 40, used his fame to abuse young boys and targeted teens at show events after reaching the 2018 semis. Here's the latest.
Why was Danny Tetley jailed and how long is his jail sentence?
Danny Tetley was called a 'despicable creature' by a judge as he was jailed for nine years on January 25.
In court he was told: "You exploited the status it gave you. You abused that status to satisfy your perverted sexual needs, by your actions."
On August 7, 2019 The Sun exclusively revealed that Tetley had been arrested for allegedly having solicited sexual images of a child via social media.
Then on December 13 2019, he pleaded guilty to paying five 15 to 16-year-olds boys to send him indecent images.
The entertainer sent X-rated photos of himself to show the type of poses he wanted from them in 10,000 sickening WhatsApp messages.
Tetley never met any of the teens - aged 14 to 16 - but engaged in "highly sexualised chat" with them as he attempted to convince them to send naked pictures for up to £1,000-a-time.
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What have Danny Tetley's victims's families said?
The mum of his youngest victim, 14, told The Sun: “He’s a monster. We’ve cried so much that our tears have dried up. My son is innocent. He feels ashamed. He’s been suicidal.”
She and the boy’s dad said Tetley groomed the lad late at night while they were asleep.
He paid £700 into the boy’s Paypal — luring him with his own naked selfies, snaps of children, and of cash piles.
The boy said he got the money from gaming. His parents only found out last July after another victim contacted police who seized the singer’s phone.
His dad added: “I feel like a failure. Tetley befriended kids who were X Factor fans. It’s very similar to how Jimmy Savile operated.”
In all, Tetley exchanged more than 10,000 WhatsApp messages with seven victims between October 2018 and last August.
He told one lad: “The more on show the better the price.”