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Gang member used Facebook as part of a campaign to sexually abuse more than 100 schoolgirls in the Torbay area A member of a gang believed to have sexually abused more than 100 vulnerable schoolgirls in a seaside resort has been sentenced to 10 years in custody. Jake Ormerod, 20, used Facebook as part of his “campaign to groom naive and immature girls” and then “mercilessly corrupted” them to satisfy his “insatiable need for sex”. He admitted 13 counts of sexual activity with eight girls. He plied victims with drink and drugs in the Devon resort of Torbay, before having unprotected sex. Some were virgins and in one session he had sex with three children within 90 minutes, Exeter crown court heard. Sending him to a young offenders’ institution, Judge Philip Wassall said some victims were “so stupefied they did not find out until later that you had had sexual intercourse with them”. After the sentencing, Devon and Cornwall police said they believed Ormerod was part of a wider group of young men in Torbay who had abused girls as young as 11 who went missing from home. Police and other agencies have acted to safeguard 139 girls who are believed have come into contact with members of the group. Sources believe there have been at least 40 victims of the gang, though others may have been assaulted but are too traumatised or frightened to give evidence – or else remain loyal to the abusers. Police refuse to say how many other suspects they are hunting, only saying it is “fewer than 10″. Detective Inspector Simon Snell, who is leading the inquiry, codenamed Operation Mansfield, said Ormerod was guilty of “classic grooming behaviour” to make the victims feel wanted and loved. As well as grooming them on the internet, the men would meet the girls at school gates or on the streets of Torbay, police say. The case is another example of the worrying number of girls who are victims of street grooming. A report from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre published last month revealed many victims were runaways. Andrew MacFarlane, prosecuting, said a large number of girls aged 12-15 who had gone missing were regularly found at Ormerod’s home. MacFarlane said: “The defendant took advantage of their vulnerability. He mercilessly corrupted them in order to satisfy his apparently insatiable need for sex. “He never used a condom. He never took no for an answer. He lowered what resistance they had mostly by the ready provision of drink and cannabis in significant quantities.” The house Ormerod shared with his mother in Torquay was described as filthy by some victims. But MacFarlane said: “The lure of drink and drugs appears to have overwhelmed their disgust.” MacFarlane said: “For many it is no exaggeration to say that their lives have been damaged permanently and what remained of their childhood years have been destroyed.” One victim, who was 14 at the time she was abused, tried to kill herself. She said Ormerod pinned her down and had sex with her when she was a virgin. Later she described herself as horrible and called Ormerod “blatant scum who never washed and was a creep”. A 13-year-old girl said Ormerod had a “bad boy image which girls found attractive”. Another 13-year-old said he had sex with her as she drifted in and out of consciousness “after getting wrecked”. Yet another girl aged 13 said he plied her with drink and drugs and having sex was “like necrophilia”. She added she “will never be the person I was”. Defending, Paul Dentith, denied Ormerod was a predatory paedophile. He said: “He is not the Pied Piper of Torquay.” Dentith said there was a hate campaign against Ormerod and he would never be able to return to Torquay. But outside court one victim’s mother said: “He has cherry-picked these girls because they are vulnerable and he has gone on to sexually exploit them. “He has pretended to befriend them, shown them kindness and that he is a really decent, gentle guy – he isn’t. I’m glad he is locked up. He started the exploitation of young girls years ago.” Police said the hunt for other men suspected of abusing girls in Torbay was continuing. Officers also conceded that questions needed to be asked about the way police and other agencies worked together to prevent vulnerable runaways being abused and to identify those who were targeting them. Crime Steven Morris Sandra Laville guardian.co.uk