Brianna Ghey was at risk of sexual exploitation, inquest hears

Brianna Ghey was astatine hazard of intersexual exploitation arsenic concerns were raised implicit her usage of her mobile telephone and societal media, an inquest heard.

The murdered transgender teenager, 16, had thousands of followers connected TikTok and YouTube, wherever she posted video contented astir make-up, hairdressing and dancing, Warrington Coroner’s Court heard.

Before her execution concerns had been raised astir her interactions online but she had refused to fto her parent person entree to her telephone and her schoolhouse could not instrumentality the instrumentality disconnected her either, the proceeding was told.

Brianna, 16, was lured to Culcheth Linear Park by classmate Scarlett Jenkinson and her person Eddie Ratcliffe, some 15 astatine the time, wherever she was stabbed 28 times with a hunting weapon connected February 11 past year.

From property 14, Jenkinson had enjoyed watching videos of existent sidesplitting and torture connected the acheronian web, fantasised astir execution and developed an involvement successful serial killers.

The execution proceedings heard the “frenzied” and “brutal” execution had elements of sadism, with a secondary motive being the victim’s trans identity. Both killers were jailed for life.

Brianna’s inquest heard she had been diagnosed with ADHD and autism, had self-harmed and struggled with anxiousness and an eating disorder.

Her school, Birchwood High, became alert she was progressive successful online groups promoting eating disorders and self-harm, but she refused to prosecute with net information advice.

Her mother, Esther Ghey, expressed interest astir her payment and safety, successful peculiar her societal media engagement and the magnitude of clip she was spending online.

But contempt being offered help, Brianna again struggled to prosecute with immoderate enactment services, the inquest heard.

She had thousands of followers connected TikTok and YouTube but would not let her parent to entree her telephone and would seldom enactment it down arsenic it was ever connected her person.

In December of 2022 a sheet gathering of schoolhouse and different professionals deemed her to beryllium astatine “medium risk” of kid intersexual exploitation.

It would beryllium down to the parents, arsenic a section authorization we don’t person work to let america to region a phone

Fiona Cowan, Warrington Council

Fiona Cowan, caput of children’s safeguarding astatine Warrington Council, said the section authorization oregon schoolhouse could not unit children to prosecute with assistance services and Brianna’s societal idiosyncratic was trying to enactment with her and having “conversations” astir her usage of TikTok and societal media.

Jacqueline Devonish, elder coroner for Cheshire, asked astir concerns astir Brianna’s telephone usage and if the schoolhouse could person taken her telephone from her.

Ms Cowan said: “It would beryllium down to the parents, arsenic a section authorization we don’t person work to let america to region a phone.”

Ms Cowan said she had known constabulary to region a child’s telephone if they believed a kid to beryllium astatine risk.

The inquest heard soon earlier her execution Brianna had refused to travel into schoolhouse and a gathering was held with schoolhouse heads and her grandmother, Marion Ghey, connected February 7 past year.

It was to sermon her “unacceptable conduct” including her usage of a mobile telephone successful schoolhouse and “challenging behaviour” including disrespect towards unit and the magnitude of her skirt, which she kept rolling up to marque shorter.

Brianna “did not respond well” successful the meeting, was rude, said schoolhouse rules were “ridiculous”, would not comply and would not beryllium coming backmost to school.

Her grandma thanked schoolhouse unit and apologised for Brianna’s behaviour.

Ms Cowan said a safeguarding reappraisal of the lawsuit concluded, contempt Jenkinson’s engagement with taking cannabis into some her schools, nary 1 could reasonably person foreseen she would spell connected to perpetrate murder.

The authorities did not cognize astir Jenkinson’s fascination with unit oregon that she was utilizing the acheronian web to provender her convulsive fantasies and determination was nary grounds of immoderate “gaps” successful the schoolhouse and council’s enactment which led to the murder.

Esther Ghey is present campaigning to rise consciousness of the dangers of societal media to children and for greater parental controls to beryllium enactment successful place.

The inquest is scheduled to reason aboriginal connected Friday.