A pervert who believed he was chatting to a 13-year-old but was actually interacting with a vigilante group was among those jailed in Greater Manchester this week.
Two teenagers who went out on a six-week rampage of robberies and assaults have also been put behind bars. A county lines drug dealer from Manchester who supplied crack cocaine and heroin to a Cheshire town was also handed a jail term.
Jail sentences are handed out to the worst offenders each week and Manchester Evening News reporters are in court to cover the most serious cases.
Here are some of the criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week...
'Deplorable' pervert, 56, thought he was talking to 13-year-old girls but got caught by vigilante groups
A 56-year-old pervert who thought he was speaking to a number of 13-year-old girls was actually talking with fake profiles operated by 'online vigilante groups'.
Christopher Kelly, of Cranbook Street, Radcliffe, was arrested in September following reports from multiple groups that they had been communicating with him using fake profiles of different 13-year-old girls, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Kelly, who was already subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) at the time of the offending, has been jailed for two years after admitting to using the internet to contact girls under the age of 18. He also pleaded guilty to breaching the SHPO.
Following Kelly's sentence, Detective Constable Adam Gosling of the Complex Safeguarding Team, Bury division, said: “Kelly’s actions are deplorable and completely unacceptable. The safety of our children is a top priority of GMP, and I hope this result sends a stark warning to offenders that these behaviours will not be tolerated."
Smirking teen and baby-faced pal preyed on vulnerable in 'cowardly' six-week rampage
Two teenagers preyed on the vulnerable as they carried out a 'cowardly' crime spree in Greater Manchester. Declan Flynn, who was smirking in his police mugshot, has been jailed along with baby-faced Ryan McCormack for their six-week spree in Tameside.
The 'dangerous' duo carried out robberies and assaults between December 10 last year and January 25 this year. McCormack, 19, of no fixed abode, and Flynn, 18, of Moorfield Avenue, Denton, were both jailed at Manchester Crown Court for four-and-a-half years and four years respectively.
Black-eyed McCormack was convicted of two robberies, possession of a bladed article and five assaults. Flynn was convicted of being involved in offering to supply a class A drug, possession of a controlled drug and two counts of robbery.
The crimes began on December 10, last year and only stopped on January 25, when they were both arrested. The investigation was led by Detective Sergeant Peter Goddard of Tameside, who said: “Declan Flynn and Ryan McCormack are cowardly and dangerous individuals, whose criminality preyed upon vulnerable people in the street, regardless of their surroundings or the time of day.
“The officers within the Neighbourhood Crime Team at Tameside worked tirelessly to secure the charge, remand and prosecution of these two defendants, and I hope today’s sentencing will act as a deterrent to anyone who is considering committing a crime and the consequences they are likely to face.”
'Key player' in gang that brought misery to North West jailed
A county lines drug dealer from Manchester carried on supplying crack cocaine and heroin to a Cheshire town after being arrested. Abdulatif Abdulkadir was initially held by officers in February 2021 when he was driving in Ellesmere Port and found in possession of £1,231 in cash and two mobile phones – one of which was used as a ‘burner’ phone to sell drugs.
He was subsequently charged with being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine and possession of criminal property. But he was bailed by the courts, so continued dealing for a Manchester-based county lines gang.
He was again later arrested in May last year after detectives raided his home in Demesne Road, Manchester. The 32-year-old was remanded in custody after he was charged with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin and being in possession of class B drugs (cannabis) and criminal property.
At Chester Crown Court he was jailed for five years and three months after pleading guilty to all charges.
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