London TikTok Groomer Jailed Over Bedfordshire Rape and Sexual Assault
Joshua Gray, 23, has been jailed for over 13 years at Luton Crown Court for the grooming, rape, and sexual assault of a teenage girl in Bedfordshire.
A 23-year-old online predator who groomed a teenage girl on social media before travelling across counties to rape and sexually assault her in a village park has been jailed for more than 13 years.
Joshua Gray, 23, of Ellanby Crescent, London, was sentenced at Luton Crown Court on Friday 2 October 2026 after pleading guilty to charges of rape, sexual assault, sexual communication with a child and intentional strangulation.
The court handed Gray a custodial sentence of 13 years and six months, of which he is expected to serve two-thirds in prison—approximately nine years—before being released on licence for the remainder of his term.
In addition to the prison term, Gray was made subject to a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order remaining in force until further notice.
The court heard that Gray deliberately targeted the vulnerable victim online, initialising contact on the social media platform TikTok before moving their conversations to the messaging platform Discord.
Over a four-day period, Gray sent the victim numerous sexually explicit messages and manipulated her into agreeing to a late-night meeting.
then travelled from London to a village near Bedford, persuading the girl to meet him at a local park late at night. Once at the location, Gray launched an attack during which he sexually assaulted, intentionally strangled and raped the teenager.
Police were alerted to the incident after the victim's concerned parents reported her missing. Officers responding to the report located the victim in the park and swiftly tracked down and arrested Gray in the immediate vicinity.
Detectives established that Gray had deliberately targeted a vulnerable young girl online and manipulated her into meeting him before carrying out the violent sexual assault.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Lauren Byrne, of Bedfordshire Police's Protecting Vulnerable People team, commended the victim's bravery and stated that Gray had deliberately targeted a vulnerable child online to abuse her in the worst possible way.
DC Byrne added that the sentence demonstrates that police will do everything possible to bring offenders who exploit and abuse children to justice.
