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A British individual has admitted to encouraging a vulnerable young man from the United States to take his own life during a video call. Dylan Phelan, a 21-year-old from Morley, appeared at Leeds Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to the charge of encouraging the suicide of Travis Dyer, who lived in Louisiana. The court heard that on October 30, 2024, Phelan, along with others, engaged in conduct that could be considered as incitement to suicide.
During the proceedings, Judge Robin Mairs postponed sentencing to May 22 and warned Phelan to prepare for imprisonment. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revealed that Phelan had been communicating online with Mr. Dyer, who was known to be mentally vulnerable, over several months. It was further disclosed that in March of the previous year, Phelan voluntarily attended a police station in Leeds with his parents, reporting his involvement in the video call where Dyer was encouraged to end his life alongside two other individuals based in the United States.
Investigations into Phelan’s mobile phone uncovered possession of an indecent image of a child as well as other images categorized as extreme pornography. As a condition of his bail, Phelan is prohibited from having access to any internet-capable devices. The sentencing hearing has been arranged for the afternoon of May 22 to allow Dyer’s family to participate via video link. The judge made it clear that bail should not be interpreted as leniency, emphasizing that Phelan should expect to serve a custodial sentence.
In addition to pleading guilty to encouraging suicide, Phelan also admitted to possessing illegal material, including one count of making an indecent image of a child in November 2024 and three counts of possessing extreme pornography in March 2025. The victim, Travis Dyer, had experienced significant personal tragedy, having lost his mother and younger sister in a car accident ten years before his death. An obituary described Dyer as “sweet, gentle, quiet, kind and very caring to those he loved,” with his great-grandmother lamenting the unfair burden of tragedy he had endured in his short life.
Alex Johnson, a senior specialist prosecutor in the CPS Special Crime Division, described the case as “deeply disturbing,” highlighting the exploitation of a vulnerable young man through online interactions. Johnson stressed that Phelan was not a passive observer but actively encouraged Dyer’s suicide with clear intent. The prosecutor underscored that legal accountability extends to the digital realm, making it clear that encouraging self-harm or suicide online is a serious criminal offense
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