Thirteen men appeared in court charged with serious child grooming sex offences.
All the men, aged between 21 and 34, were accused of numerous offences against multiple teenage girls aged between 14 and 17. The offences span over a two-year period between 2016 and 2018, mainly in the Blackrod and Adlington areas of Bolton.
The men were brought into court in groups of three or four for brief hearings at Bolton Magistrates' Court yesterday, Tuesday, April 4. Peter Williams, prosecuting, told magistrates the alleged offences were serious and needed to be dealt with before a judge at a crown court.
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None of the 13 accused entered pleas and all of them were bailed until May 10 to appear at Bolton Crown Court. The bail conditions are to not have contact with a female under 16, not to contact any complainants, not to contact any co-accused and not to attend a specified address in the area.
LancsLive reported all the men must live at their home address given to police. They were arrested following Greater Manchester Police's Operation Pavarotti - an investigation into child sexual exploitation in the area.
The 13 accused included Wigan man Cory Barrett, 22. Barrett has been charged with three counts of rape of a female under the age of 16, two counts of sexual activity with a female under the age of 16 and two counts of sexual assault of a female under the age of 16.
Ashley Darbyshire, 26, of Westhoughton, charged with two counts of causing/inciting sexual activity with a child, five rapes of a female under the age of 16, and seven counts of sexual activity with female under the age of 16 Harvie Aspden, 23, of Bolton, has been charged with four counts of sexual activity with a female under 16.
Daniel Flatters, 32, of Bolton, has been charged with one count of rape of a female under the age of 16, two counts of sexual activity with a female under the age of 16 and one count of aggravated TWOC (Taking Without Consent). Jack Poulson, 29, of Bolton, has been with charged with four counts of rape of a female under 16, five counts of sexual activity with a female under the age of 16 and one count of sexual communication with a female under the age of 16.
Jamie Fitzgerald, 34, of Bolton, has been charged with one count of sexual activity with a female under the age of 16. Elliott Turner, 34, of Bolton, has been charged with one count of rape of a female under the age of 16. Ross Corley, 28, of Bolton, has been charged with two counts of sexual activity with a female under the age of 16.
Brandon Harwood, 23, of Bolton, is charged with on count of rape of a girl aged 14 and two counts of sexual activity with a female under the age of 16. Richard Haslam, 34, of Bolton has been charged with three counts of rape of a female under the age of 16 and two counts of sexual activity with a female under the age of 16.
Michael Linfoot, 21, and Thomas Rae, 21, are each accused of one count of the rape of a girl aged 15 in the Rivington area of Lancashire in 2018. Callum Hesketh, 22, is accused of making indecent Snapchat videos of a child in the same area at the same time.
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