Bolton: Three men sentenced for sexual abuse of groomed girl
Three men who engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl who had been groomed over social media have been given suspended jail sentences.Michael Linfoot, 24, from Chorley and Thomas Rae, 24, of Chorley, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child under the age of 16 in the Rivington area of Bolton in 2018.Both were sentenced to 11 months in prison, suspended for a year, in a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday.Callum Hesketh, 24, of Chorley, pleaded guilty to taking and distributing indecent photos of a child and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for a year.
The court heard that on 23 April 2018, Hesketh sent sexual messages to the victim over a social media messaging platform.He continued to call and message her over the next few weeks and then abused her on a video call, the court was told.On the evening of 16 June 2018, the victim and her friend got a lift from the Adlington area with Hesketh and Linfoot. The two men picked the two girls up in a white van, which belonged to Linfoot, telling the girls they would give them alcoholic drinks, the court heard.They drove to Rivington and parked the van, where the victim's friend received a phone call and stepped outside the vehicle. Hesketh and Linfoot then sexually abused the victim and, while this happened, Hesketh recorded the sex acts on his mobile phone and sent them out via a broadcast option on a social media platform, the court was told.
'Bravery of victim'
The victim heard Hesketh talking on his mobile phone and a short while later three more men arrived on motorbikes.One of the men, Rae, approached the van and sexually abused the victim.Afterwards, the two girls got into the rear of the van and Hesketh and Linfoot took them back to Adlington and purchased a bottle of wine for them before they drove off.Speaking after the case, Det Con Robert Booth said: "Thanks to the bravery of the victim in coming forward and putting her trust in us. "It must have been very difficult for her to have to sit through interviews and come to terms with what these men subjected her to.""I want to send a clear message to any perpetrators of sexual abuse; that we will not tolerate this abhorrent behaviour, and we will bring you to justice," he added.Det Con Booth urged any victims of rape and sexual abuse to contact police.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
Call-outs for specialist prison squad increase 44% in two years
There has been a sharp increase in the number of times a specialist team that deals with serious incidents in prisons has been deployed in England and Wales, the BBC can National Tactical Response Group (NTRG), was called out 823 times in 2024 compared with 570 deployments in 2022, according to a Freedom of Information Prison Officers' Association (POA) said there had been problems with concerted indiscipline - an incident in which two or more prisoners act together in defiance of lawful instruction - and government said it was investing more in specialist teams to deal with serious incidents. 'More violent incidents' The NTRG, which is also sent into young offender institutions and immigration removal centres, is a highly trained unit used to dealing with serious incidents such as prisoner barricades, hostage taking and violent April the team was deployed to Lowdham Grange prison after reports that one inmate threatened to take another Willetts, from the POA national executive committee, said: "There seems to be an increasing need for this group [NTRG] to be deployed due to frequent callouts to address rising prison violence and an ever increasing prison population."Concerns about prison safety were highlighted by the latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures, which show the number of staff assaulted in adult prisons across England and Wales hit a new peak last year. The government said a trial into the use of tasers would be launched this summer for specialised officers dealing with serious incidents in prisons.A recent landmark review by Former Lord Chancellor David Gauke recommended some prisoners could be released after serving just a third of their sentence in a bid to ease prison overcrowding. One former prison officer in Kent, who wanted to remain anonymous, told BBC South East about the volatility in some jails."I've been assaulted myself and I've witnessed colleagues having their life changed because of an assault that wasn't even directed at them," he not his real name, said the service had been impacted by the loss of a lot of experienced staff over the last decade."I think the biggest tool the prison service got rid of was experience. And unfortunately, you just can't buy experience," he said."You can't get people that come through the gates fresh out of college and expect them to have the same experience as someone that's been in the job for 20 years and knows how to deal with someone." Steve Gillan, the POA's general secretary, said: "Our members need better training and a return to basics of putting security and discipline first and foremost."We need proper protective equipment and better staffing levels to deal with overcrowded prisons."There is no doubt that there's been a major increase in incidents at height. "Prison officers cannot deal with these without the correct equipment and training, that's why NTRG staff are brought in to deal with such situations." The MoJ said a large proportion of recent NTRG callouts are for incidents at height, which are recorded for any incident taking place above ground level, but are not necessarily violent or prison governor John Podmore said protests at height and incidents at height tend to be caused by prisoners who are angry or frustrated."At the moment it's highly likely and logical that such incidents would be on the increase because there are a lot of prisoners who aren't getting out of their cell or getting access to education, employment and training," he said."In these scenarios frustrations will be on the increase, prison staff are very often less able, because they're new in the job, to deal with such incidents, and that's why they can manifest themselves in protests at height."One of the reasons can be prisoners who're in debt because they've been taking drugs and they want to get out of the prison, so if they go on a rooftop protest, there's a very high likelihood they'd be moved out of the prison and for the time being moved away from their debt." President of the Prison Governors' Association Tom Wheatley said the NTRG deployments showed the pressure on the prison system. "They're very full, not all prisoners are in the places they are supposed to be, they've become frustrated and they protest," he said."NTRG come out to incidents at height, prisoners climbing over the railings on the wings, so they're at threat of falling or jumping."As frustration rises so does the amount of time those specially trained staff are deployed."They [NTRG) have particular training and skills, they can safely rescue prisoners at height and if there's a large scale disturbance they come in as part of the team that comes in to deal with that."The government recently said more than 1,000 inmates would be released early to free up spaces, as ministers grapple with an overcrowding Secretary Shabana Mahmood said a £4.7bn investment would fund more prisons. A MoJ spokesperson said: "This government inherited prisons in crisis and the Lord Chancellor has taken immediate action to ensure we can lock up dangerous offenders, protect the public and make prisons safer for our hard-working staff."We have a zero-tolerance approach to violence which is why we are investing more into our specialist teams responding to serious incidents and providing staff with the tools they need to keep themselves safe."
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Court backlog 'main issue' hampering justice, says police chief
Criminal cases involving violence against women and girls should be dealt with within two weeks, a police force's chief constable has Hogg, Thames Valley Police's (TVP) most senior officer, said the "main issue" in resolving cases over recent years has been the criminal justice system's said some females could be waiting until 2027 for their case to go to trial and called for more investment to cut delays.A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesperson said it was "clear there are many cases taking far too long" to get to that stage. The government said in March that violence against women and girls was "unacceptably high", with Femicide Census finding that since 2010, on average, a woman has been killed by a man in the UK every three Phillips, the government's minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said that its target to halve violence against females in a decade "is not an abstract goal – it is a top priority".Mr Hogg told a panel of Oxfordshire councillors it could be "difficult" getting cases to court in the first place."But the main issue is the time it's taking to get to court and the criminal justice backlog," he said."[Police and prosecutors are] actually doing pretty well and, this is all relative, but a case going to crown court, it's going to be [heard in] 2027." He added: "Witness care units need to keep those victims engaged for what could be a couple of years."Sexual offences, the judges try to prioritise but there's not enough judges, not enough barristers, not enough court space. "If the government wants to tackle violence against women and girls and halve it, we need to get cases charged quickly and in court in two weeks."It needs an investment in the criminal justice system." The MoJ's spokesperson said: "We know that justice delayed is justice denied and it is clear there are many cases taking far too long to go to trial."That's why we've asked Sir Brian Leveson to propose once-in-a-generation reform to address the outstanding backlog in our courts."Alongside this we're also providing funding for a record level of sitting days this financial year, raising national court capacity to deliver swifter justice for victims." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
'Disturbing' case of body in locker on 24 Hours in Police Custody
Warning: This article contains spoilers about the documentary. A grisly murder enquiry that began as a missing person report will feature in a fly-on-the-wall TV documentary that follows a real police body of Annette Smith from Stotfold, Bedfordshire, was discovered in a suitcase concealed in a storage locker in May 2024.24 Hours in Police Custody follows "one of Bedfordshire Police's most harrowing investigations" across the first two episodes of the new Channel 4 Ch Insp Katie Dounias said the crime "shook the community" and highlighted "some of the most complex aspects of modern-day policing". The double bill, entitled "The Butcher of Suburbia", tracks the case after Ms Smith was reported missing in January 2024 by her lodger, Scott told police she had "left with a friend", so detectives did not investigate until a family member reported her missing in then 45, had been living rent-free in Ms Smith's spare room in exchange for company and running errands. They were friends and had gone on holiday together, but he became her carer after she had a later transpired that he had covered up her disappearance for months, using her email account to send Christmas messages and e-cards to family and friends."This was a really interesting case, because we didn't know it was a murder at the beginning and it was only over time it became that," said the programme's executive producer Simon Ch Insp Dounias said it was "a particularly disturbing case" that required "meticulous work" by detectives."We were trying to work out where Annette was and what happened to her. It's painstaking. There's lots of detail we need to trawl through," she said. In an unexpected twist, Ms Smith's killer calmly confesses to the crime during a police interview."When he was arrested he did not want a solicitor, and you kind of think at that point, is he going to confess or tell us what happened?" said Det Ch Insp Dounias."And then there's a feeling almost of - I don't like to use the word excitement because it sounds sensational - but it's excitement, because actually we might find Annette. "He might tell us where she is and we can try and repatriate her with her family and allow her a burial," she Ford also spoke about the key interview. "We are used to filming these cases where somebody has a solicitor and nine times out of of 10 there will be 'no comment' interview. "But if someone is going to to comment from the beginning, it's always going to be more interesting," he said. 24 Hours in Police Custody: The Butcher Of Suburbia starts Sunday 29 June at 21:00 BST on Channel 4, and concludes on Monday 30 June. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
