The comments of Judge Hilary Manley at Manchester Crown Court were greeted with dismay by the top ranks of Merseyside Police.
On Tuesday, she laid bare the "unhappy" history of an investigation that left 24-year-old Liverpool man Lewis Jones free to snatch a six-year-old from a field in Droylsden, Tameside, where she was playing with her friends.
Jones, formerly of Brocklebank Lane in Allerton, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 years over the prolonged sexual assault, which left the little girl bloodied, bruised and psychologically scarred. But it emerged during his sentencing hearing how he had already been under investigation by Merseyside Police, for no less than two years, after grooming a 12-year-old schoolgirl into a sexual relationship by posing as a 14-year-old boy.
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When the vulnerable girl's grandad realised what was going on, Jones was reported and arrested, and sexual images of other young girls were found on his phone. He was interviewed twice by Merseyside officers, in June 2020 and April 2021, but he was released under investigation with '"no fetters on his liberty", in the judge's words, rather than on bail - which allows police to impose strict restrictions on a suspect's movements.
Jones, who had a history of petty offending, moved out of Liverpool as the investigation into the grooming offences dragged on and on, where he stayed with his dad, a man with drug and alcohol addictions, in a Manchester hotel. It was in this apparently aimless period that Jones pounced on his young victim, who the court heard could not even bring herself to discuss what happened, telling her mum: "I think I forget".
Prosecutor Vanessa Thomson, speaking about the botched investigation during Jones's sentencing hearing, told the court: "There seems to have been issues with personnel, retirement, third party records and examination of a mobile phone."
Judge Manley said: "The net result is in this case, a defendant, who if he had been charged when he should have been, would not have been at liberty to abduct this six-year-old girl," Judge Hilary Manley said. "That's the cold fact of the case."
The judge demanded an explanation of the situation from Merseyside Police. She said the force's response included a chronology which made "very unhappy reading".
In response, Merseyside Police launched an internal review which Assistant Chief Constable Mark Kameen promised to "personally" oversee.
But the ECHO can reveal that the senior leadership of Merseyside Police were unaware of issues in the investigation until reports of Judge Manley's comments. Deputy Chief Constable Chris Green, speaking to the ECHO on Thursday, said the review had not been commissioned before the sentencing hearing and it was sparked in response to Judge Manley's comments were made on Tuesday.
When asked if he was aware with any problems in the Jones case before Tuesday, DCC Green said: "No, I'm not aware of any before [then]. Now, I'm the Deputy Chief Constable, that's not to say that concerns were not raised in areas in the organisation at different levels and the review will seek to understand the full circumstances."
When asked if the findings would be made public, DCC Green said: "Absolutely, we need to be open and transparent and honest with the public, with our communities, so in terms of that particular case we obviously have acknowledged the comments from the judge following that case.
"There are concerning comments the judge has made in relation to it, that's why we've commissioned an immediate review. One of our Assistant Chief Constable's will lead and oversee it personally to understand the full circumstances behind that.
DCC Green said it would be "inappropriate to comment" on any early indications of what went wrong, but said: "Cases can be complex and cases can take long periods of time and, you know, those comments were only made the day before yesterday. The review has been commissioned and we will wait for the outcome of that review, which will be done in fast time so we can understand.
"Of course the two main things is; there are two young girls who have been victims of terrible and horrendous crimes. Our thoughts are absolutely with them and their recovery following those incidents. Secondly, the fact that the individual responsible has been convicted and is now spending a significant period behind bars, but quite rightly as a force when those comments were made by the judge in identifying what she's identified, that we review and try to understand.
"It's quite right that we have a duty and responsibility to make sure that we investigate all allegations that are brought to us, particularly allegations of sexual offences and sexual assaults, professionally, diligently and quickly."
After the six-year-old was kidnapped, the Merseyside case was transferred to Greater Manchester Crown Prosecution Service to link up with the more serious offence. In the end Jones pleaded guilty to kidnap and two counts of sexual assault by penetration in relation to the attack last year, and four counts of sexual activity with a child, sexual assault by penetration and possessing indecent images of children in relation to the 2020 offences.
The court heard the victim had been introduced to Jones on Snapchat, when she was 12 and he was 21. Jones went on to have sex with her on a number of occasions. The girl later told her family and police she "loved" Jones, but became "very distressed" when she realised he was aged 21 and not 14 as he claimed.
Judge Manley said Jones had tricked her into having a 'sexual relationship'. She added: "I have described it as a relationship, because at the time that is what she thought it was, but in reality you had constructed an edifice of lies and manipulations which enabled you to sexually exploit her."
After Jones was jailed for life, ACC Kameen said in a statement: "We absolutely owe it to the victims of sexual offences to ensure that we fundamentally develop and improve the way we work.
“It's only right and proper that we establish what happened in this case and therefore we will undertake a formal review of the circumstances which led to the delay in bringing charges.
“We are committed to delivering an effective and timely justice for all victims, particularly the most vulnerable, which includes children.
“Our thoughts at this time are with the victims and their families, who will never get over the impact of the heinous offences committed by Jones, and I would like to reassure them that I will personally oversee the review."
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