A Manchester paedophile who tried to groom a number of children online - including while on police bail - has been locked up for ten years.
Rachel Fenton, previously known as Richard Fenton, of Bideford Drive, Wythenshawe, was sentenced yesterday (9 May) at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to 21 child sex offences and a drug offence, including seven counts of attempting to incite a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
Officers also found a number of indecent images of children including a large amount of child sexual abuse images and photos of young children on their devices, which were seized.
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Detective Constable Ceri Martin, of GMP's Sexual Crime Unit, called Fenton’s crimes “deplorable and completely unacceptable”.
Fenton, 45, was originally reported by an online vigilante group in November 2020, who said they had been communicating with them using a fake profile of a 12-year-old girl. Not knowing it was a fake profile, Fenton tried to incite the girl to engage in sexual activity and send videos, and sent the profile indecent images and tried to encourage the believed girl to engage in sexual activity with a child aged six.
GMP attended an address in Wythenshawe and arrested Fenton on suspicion of arranging a child sexual offence, and suspicion of possession of a class A controlled drug and possession of cannabis.
Fenton had also been in touch with another account he believed was a 12-year-old girl but was in fact controlled by law enforcement, sending indecent images to the operative and tried to incite the believed child to meet 'to engage in sexual activity and send indecent images of herself'.
And, even while on police bail, Fenton continued to try and get indecent images from children, and contacted a third profile which was also run by a police operative, who he tried to incite to meet him and perform sexual activities.
Fenton was arrested for a second time in January 2021 on suspicion of a number of sex offences.
He pleaded guilty to 21 child sex offences at Manchester Crown Court yesterday, including seven counts of attempting to incite a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, five counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, one count of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and two counts of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity.
Fenton also been issued with a sexual harm prevention order and been made to sign the sex offenders register for life.
Detective Constable Ceri Martin, of GMP's Sexual Crime Unit, said: "Fenton is a paedophile who knowingly attempted to exploit children for his own sexual gratification.
"This behaviour is deplorable and completely unacceptable. The safety of our children is a top priority in Greater Manchester and I hope today's sentencing spreads the message to anyone thinking of engaging in this type of behaviour that it will not be tolerated.
"GMP will do their absolute utmost to thoroughly investigate all reports of this type of crime and bring the perpetrators to justice."
