“This case may set a precedent under new law, but it also sets a moral benchmark. How we respond will signal what kind of society we are.”

As Tyler Webb, the first person charged with a new offence of encouraging serious self-harm, is sentenced, the victim in the case has released the following statement.  

Reporting restrictions are in place preventing her from being identified.

The below statement is a full and honest account provided by the victim, which she has asked us to share. Please be aware you may find some of the detail below distressing.

She said: “Explaining the pain and suffering Tyler Webb has caused me won’t make him feel guilty for what he has done, it is likely to cause him satisfaction and pleasure, but I want to explain the lasting impact this has had on me.

“The new law may call this encouraging serious suicide and serious self-harm. I want to call it what it is – attempted murder through psychological means.

“What Tyler did to me was not a mistake. It was calculated psychological violence. He didn’t encourage self-harm in passing, he instructed me on what to do and how to do it.  He watched and enjoyed it, even when I was doing things to my own body I did not want to do. If I resisted he threatened to abandon me and reminded me of any reason he could think of as to why I deserved it. He told me my only value was in dying for his entertainment.

“The fact that I survived does not lessen the gravity of what he did. I survived but that does not change the fact he tried to kill me – not with his hands but with his words.

“This case may set a precedent under new law, but it also sets a moral benchmark. How we respond will signal what kind of society we are.

“I didn’t die, the outcome wasn’t fatal – but that’s only down to pure fate.

“After my attempts Tyler expressed disappointment that I didn’t die. He asked me to try again. He continued even after serious harm occurred and he knew I had been hospitalised. I have scars on my arm will never go away. I am alive, but the life I have left is altered forever.

“No one can say he didn’t understand the consequences of what he was doing. I had suggested trying to help him by faking scenarios to get his obsession out of his system. He said he had watched fake deaths and they didn’t work for him anymore and he needed me to do it for real. I am certain he would do it again to someone else without hesitation if given the opportunity.

“Some people may blame me but don’t forget we met in a suicide support forum where I was asking for help. Tyler entered that space – a place full of vulnerable people – with the intention of pushing someone over the edge for his own pleasure. Anyone could go online looking for support and find someone like Tyler.

“There will never be another second on this earth where I don’t have to live with the pain of what happened. My mind and body have been severely damaged. I think about it every day.”

For more information about the case, read here - First person charged with encouraging self-harm is sentenced | Leicestershire Police

For further details about the offence and for information and support, visit: https://www.leics.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/online-safety/online-safety/what-is-encouraging-assisting-serious-self-harm/