An online gamer groomed a 12-year-old girl who he connected with through Minecraft into pretending to be a green goblin in a depraved sexual roleplay, a court heard.

Lewis Weaver had requested that the victim - who lived in Canada - pretended to be a green goblin woman who was cuffed, among other various characters, including his 10-year-old sister, a judge was told.

The 26-year-old had exchanged anime pornography with the girl and discussed her moving to the UK to live with “them” so they could have sex “all the time”, prosecutors said.

Long-haired Weaver, who uses they/them pronouns, appeared in court wearing a black shirt, purple tie and black trousers. 

Lawyers struggled to avoid referring to the married defendant as “he” or “him” throughout the hearing, often correcting themselves to use Weaver’s preferred pronouns.

Aqsa Hussain, prosecuting, said the offending began on February 10 2018 and continued until August 2020, between which time the victim was aged between 12 to 15 years.

“The factual background to this case is that via the game Minecraft and later on the Discord app, the victim and Lewis Weaver connected in February 2018”, Ms Hussain said.

“At the time, the victim was 11-years-old and resided in Canada. Lewis Weaver, they were 22-years-old during that period and used the username ‘LOPO5467’.

“By February 10 2018, the two had begun communicating in a private Discord server, set for themselves only. 

“The victim initially described the relationship as being friends and even suggested it was like he was treating her as a little sister. Over time things escalated and they were both engaging in sexual roleplays and sexual communication.”

Weaver had discussed with the victim his attraction to a 10 year old girl he has seen in a video and her bottom. He also discussed sexual activities he would like the victim to do, such as “foot jobs”.

Ms Hussain added: “There was, for instance, sexual role play depicting the defendant engaging in sexual activity with his little sister, played by the victim, initiated by Lewis Weaver.

“One role the victim plays is that of a goblin and Lewis Weaver engages in sexual activity with her, initiated and encouraged by the defendant.

“When the victim turned 15-years-old, Lewis Weaver asked her to be their girlfriend”, Ms Hussain explained. “They asked her to travel to the UK to live with him so when she turned 16 they could have sex.

“This was not a simple case of fantasy, there were very real visions of the complainant and Lewis Weaver actually meeting, albeit it was not very practical, there was a very real intention for that meeting to happen.”

The court heard that the victim eventually realised that her relationship with Weaver was “problematic” and referred the matter to the police, Ms Hussain said.

In a statement read out in court, the victim said she felt Weaver “stole her childhood”, the prosecutor said.

“He made it incredibly difficult for her to do anything other than being online all the time and speaking to him”.

The court heard the victim had blocked Weaver on Discord, but he later contacted her on Instagram and she continued to engage with him because she worried he would self-harm.

“Lewis really messed me up”, the victim said, adding she suffered with crippling anxiety since the offending.

Weaver, of St Patrick’s Close in Maidenhead, Berks., had admitted one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child.

Emily Lauchlan, defending, said Weaver had no previous convictions and that he had expressed “remorse”.

“Further efforts have been made by Lewis Weaver to ensure that his lifestyle limits his contact with those under 18 when gaming online”, Ms Lauchlan said. “Including his wife’s activities as an internet streamer”.

Judge Mathew Turner, sentencing at Reading Crown Court, said Weaver had claimed he had himself the victim of grooming at one stage.

“You have a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder which led you to spending much of your time in the online environment”, Judge Turner said.

“The risk of further offending by you is elevated and of some concern, but you have no previous convictions and you have no convictions since your arrest in October 2020.”

Judge Turner sentenced Weaver to 12 month in prison, suspended for 18 months, with a 12-month mental health treatment requirement.

Weaver must also sign the sex offenders register and was slapped with a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.