A SEX offender from Haslemere who was jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to a string of crimes has had his sentence slashed by a third. Lee Costi, 22, was jailed for nine years at Nottingham Crown Court in June after admitting having sex with girls aged 13 and 14, as well as persuading a third to perform a sex act over an internet webcam. Detectives who seized his computer also found 43 indecent images of children, including one showing a young girl being raped and tortured. But the Court of Appeal took three years off his jail term, as well as cutting the length of time he would be subject to a sex offenders' prevention order by five years, to a total of 10 years. Costi's barrister, Rupert Hallowes, told the court his client, who lived at Chatsworth Avenue, had "developed an addiction to the internet", fostering his own "bizarre alter ego" as he made contact with young girls via internet chatrooms. He added that Costi's web addiction had "spiralled out of control". Costi's first victim was a 14-year-old Nottingham girl who met him in a teenagers' chatroom. She lied and told him she was 12, performed a sex act over the internet at his request, and even agreed to meet him. However, she got cold feet before the meeting and reported the predator to her mother, who contacted the police. The girl's mother e-mailed Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), a multi-national organisation set up to tackle internet child abuse. Officers tracked down the other two girls, and it was then that they uncovered the fact Costi had groomed his other victims in the same way. Both were virgins before their meetings with Costi, and one needed extensive counselling after the encounter. The appeal court was told how one girl, a 14-year-old from Swindon, met Costi in a hotel room and had sex with him before terminating the relationship. The third, from Essex, was 13 when Costi began grooming her over the internet. The pair met at London Waterloo station and soon afterwards had sex in an alleyway. At the original hearing the girl, now 15, told the court she still had nightmares. But Costi continued his web prowling, trawling teenage chatrooms while bragging of his exploits to paedophiles worldwide. He was eventually caught when the mother of the Nottingham girl went to the VGT, prompting a police investigation and seizure of his computer. As well as the indecent images, police discovered an internet log with 355 entries charting conversations with young girls and other paedophiles. At the time of the sentencing, VGT head Jim Gamble hailed Costi's sentence as a milestone - he was the first person caught and jailed in the UK as a result of the work of the VGT. But the verdict on Monday has now reduced the impact of Costi's capture. Appeal judge Mr Justice Royce - sitting with Lord Justice Laws and Judge Elgan Edwards QC - said Costi's original sentence was "substantially too long". He cut it to six years and reduced his sex offenders' prevention order, as well as removing the 12-month extension to his nine-year term, which meant he could be re- jailed if he offended again within a year of release.