A former manager of a children’s holiday camp has pleaded guilty to grooming more than 70 teenage boys online. Cameron Osman, 44, from Southampton, used the online alias ‘Lizzielemon’ to identify his victims on social media platforms such as Instagram, MyLol, and Love Crush. He then moved them onto video platforms such as Google Hangouts, Discord, and Skype. Using a false identity, Osman engaged his victims in sexualised chat revolving around a fantasy online world where he pretended to be a teenage girl. He never revealed his true identity, telling victims that his camera was broken.
Osman’s offending took place between 2020 and 2021. The National Crime Agency (NCA) tracked Osman down to a friend’s address in Crowborough, East Sussex, in September 2021 and arrested him. His laptop and mobile phone were seized, and Osman was found to have contacted 76 boys in the UK aged between 12 and 16 during the offending period. All of the boys have been safeguarded.
Officers found no evidence of Osman grooming children at the activity centre where he had been working. However, investigators in the United States uncovered chat logs showing sexualised communication by Osman with underage boys in 27 countries. He also searched online for underage boys in Colombia, where he was planning to visit.
Osman was released on bail as the investigation continued, but he proceeded to offend again, leading to his arrest on 27 March this year after a further victim was identified. On this occasion, Osman pretended to be a younger man and shared photos of himself.
Appearing at St Albans Crown Court, Osman pleaded guilty to 36 separate charges, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual communication with a child, and making two category C indecent images of children.
NCA Operations Manager Danielle Pownall said: “Cameron Osman callously preyed on vulnerable teenage boys, masquerading as a teenage girl for his own sexual gratification. I have no doubt, if we had not stopped Osman, he would have gone on to commit more severe offending. We will continue to work with our partners across the world to combat the perpetrators of online child sexual abuse, and hold people like Osman accountable for their crimes.”
Osman is due to be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 30 June. The NCA’s CEOP Education programme supports parents, carers, children, and professionals to ensure young people have safe and positive experiences online. The agency encourages anyone being pressured or threatened into sending sexual images or videos online to remove themselves immediately from the conversation, not respond further to any contact, and report the matter to police or a trusted adult.
