A serial rapist who uploaded videos of his schoolboy victims to an adult website has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Stephen Lee McIlvenny, 21, earned $20 after there were 30,000 views of the seven video files he uploaded to the website.
McIlvenny, originally from Twinbrook in Belfast, but whose address was given as Hydebank Young Offenders Centre, pleaded guilty to 77 charges.
They included ten rapes and attempted rapes and 20 counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
The rapes and other sexual crimes happened between November 2019 and November 2022.
Many of the offences were recorded.
McIlvenny had begun offending when he was 16 and continued for three years.
The youngest of his victims was just 14 years old.
The court heard that he had duped his victims into sending him sexually explicit pictures and he had used them to blackmail the young teenagers into engaging in sexual activity.
One of the victims estimated he had been abused 70-80 times.
At Craigavon Crown Court Judge Donna McColgan said the boys had been drawn into McIlvenny's "lair of depravation" where they'd been manipulated with a combination of lies and intimidation.
The offences came to light when McIlvenny assaulted one of his victims, causing him a brain injury.
The third complainant came forward following publicity around the case.
The PSNI said McIlvenny's case showed that the profile of abusers was changing.
Detective Inspector Nikki Deehan of the PSNI's Public Protection Team said: "People have this image in their mind of what a paedophile looks like. The digital world has warped that view.
"It has changed the narrative, and people need to be aware that predators are getting younger, they're more tech savvy, and they're extremely manipulative," she said.
None of McIlvenny's victims were in court for the sentencing.
The court heard they had been left badly affected by the abuse they had suffered.
Members of their families were in court.
They were calls of "rot in hell" as the defendant was led from the dock and into the cells.
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'Vital we don't overlook our boys'
A mother of one of the victims issued a statement after the sentencing.
She said: "The impact these sick crimes have had on my young son has been profound, affecting all aspects of his life. The trauma he has experienced has resulted in difficulty not just forming new relationships but has also impacted current relationships. He understandably finds it hard to trust people now.
"Not only was the abuse my son suffered of a sexual nature, he was also beaten, leaving him with a bleed on the brain and if members of the public hadn't of stepped in I dread to think what would have happened.
"This was all to keep him quiet about the sexual abuse, terrify him into silence. There is still very much a stigma around male victims of sexual crimes that has made him feel like he has to carry shame. This has led to severe depression and anxiety.
"This is the third year of going through the judicial system to get to sentencing and this has taken its toll on our family. It has consumed us. We hope we can begin to move on now, the sentencing has given us some form of closure.
"I would like to spread awareness that this happens to boys also and that they are more reluctant to speak out. We are always focused and worried for our girls that it’s vital we don’t overlook our boys."
