A trans-identified male who describes himself as a “sexual deviant” stands accused of child sexual abuse and of disseminating child sexual exploitation material. Jonathan Lea, 44, who also uses the name Emma Bella-Puttana, was arrested following a filmed pedophile sting by an anti-predator group and is currently in police custody.
A collective of volunteers affiliated with the Online Child Abuse Activist Group (OCAAG) confronted Lea on August 18. The grassroots organization End Game streamed the video of the interaction with Lea to their Facebook page, where it currently has nearly 40,000 views. During the confrontation, Lea confirmed his identity and names, both his male name and his “transgender” name.
End Game is an made up of volunteers who act as “decoys” – adults who set up social media profiles pretending to be minors. Speaking with Reduxx, a representative for End Game explained that Lea had allegedly sent child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) to an adult decoy in May.
“We use decoys to set up accounts that look like child accounts, in the same way the police do. When contacted by an adult, they respond. If the conversation turns to a sexual nature, we will assess the next steps and try and gather as much information as possible,” the representative said.
During the live-streamed confrontation, one member of the group remarked: “We have reason to believe you’ve been sending indecent images of children, and that you’ve also admitted to a child that you raped a six year-old.”
She added that earlier that day Lea had sent a photograph to the decoy which depicted his reflection in a window outside of a hotel in Manchester. Lea had also shared his live location, according to the volunteer, which led to the recorded confrontation and ultimately his arrest.
The representative for End Game told Reduxx that Lea had allegedly boasted of raping two children: in one instance, a six year-old child, and in the other, a seven year-old.
“He then began talking to a second decoy and spoke about meeting her for sex. She was able to obtain certain information that led us to the hotel,” End Game said. The decoy was presented as a 12 year-old girl. One End Game volunteer quoted Lea as saying he wanted to “make beautiful s*x” with the child.
Disturbingly, End Game revealed Lea had continued to operate freely on the internet for weeks following their first attempt to alert police. It was the lack of official action that resulted in the confrontation that was live-streamed.
“In this case, as he sent indecent images, we immediately handed it into the police in May. However, he continued to talk for weeks online … so when he contacted another decoy, we decided to try and locate him and confront him in order to hand him over to the police,” End Game told Reduxx.
During the live-stream, Lea denied the accusations made by End Game and claimed his phone had been hacked by a “Romanian dominatrix” who had been controlling it for the past three years.
Following the confrontation, Lea was arrested on August 18 by Greater Manchester Police (GMP). GMP have been granted an extension to hold him in custody, though End Game has not been made aware of the reasons behind the move.
Lea runs various social media accounts under the name Emma Bella-Puttana, where he posts a variety of trans pornography, including homemade adult content. He refers to himself as a “dirty trans wh*re,” a “bimbo,” and a “sissy.” Lea is listed on his Facebook profile as a “sex worker” employed at a “wh*rehouse.”
Lea advertised adult services online and advocated for the normalization of the sex industry.
In a 2020 Facebook post, he denounced the “disgusting treatment of trans individuals by society,” saying: “Transphobia is the last socially acceptable form of discrimination… and trans porn the most popular. All f*cking lives matter – not just the black ones… and am [sic] not prepared to wait 200 fucking years for people to notice.”
Among the pornographic content Lea has posted online are images which contain themes of racial fetishization, particularly of Black men.
In various posts across his social media, Lea referenced that he was officially employed as a lawyer. He reiterated this detail to End Game volunteers during the live streamed confrontation.
End Game was established two years ago in response to the perceived epidemic of child sexual exploitation material and child predators operating on the internet. A representative with the group, who requested to go unnamed, told Reduxx that those who freely give up their time to track down child abusers have a diverse range of reasons for doing so.
“For some it’s to do with their own past experiences … for others, perhaps a sense of frustration at the sheer volume of these characters online [or] having kids themselves, it’s a motivation to do something about it.”
Since the group was established, 30 arrests have been made as a direct result of their anti-predator work.
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