Man jailed for life for abduction and sexual assault of six-year-old girl in Greater Manchester

A man from Liverpool has been jailed for life for the abduction and sexual assault of a six-year-old girl in Greater Manchester.

Lewis Jones, 24, of no fixed abode but from Liverpool, Merseyside, was today (Wednesday April 26th) jailed for life after abducting a six-year-old girl from a field where she was playing with her cousins, in Droylsden.

The court heard how, between approximately 3:15pm and 4:15pm on Wednesday August 17th, the children spotted a man sat on a bench situated right in front of where they had been making  a ‘den’.

He watched them playing for approximately an hour and took photographs of them, while also being on his phone at various times.

At one point, Jones removed his t-shirt revealing a tattoo on his chest – an identifying factor noticed by one of the children and later recounted to the police.

He then approached the youngsters and asked them to help him collect sticks, before grabbing the young girl around the waist, putting his hand over her mouth and running away with her down a disused railway path, away from her cousins — who then went to raise the alarm with family members.

The family began an immediate area search resulting in the child being located a short time later. Police officers continued searching the area for the suspect, with CCTV and public assistance helping to identify Jones leading to his arrest.

When reunited with her mother, it became apparent that she had been the victim of a sexual assault. The young girl was was taken to St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre where she received specialist care, and support was provided to her family.

Sentencing Jones to life imprisonment today, Her Honour Judge Manley referred to Jones as a ‘dangerous individual who was highly likely to commit further, serious offences’.

She further stated he would be able to first apply for parole in 2035, but he would only ever be released if he could prove to the Parole Board that he was safe to be out with the general public.

Detective Superintendent Gareth Jenkins said: “Firstly, we would like to thank the young victim and her family, who have shown considerable strength and bravery when seeing this prosecution through until sentencing today.

“As a team and a force, we are extremely pleased with today’s result, which has seen Jones, an abhorrent individual, removed from the streets for a considerable length of time. My officers acted quickly, securing identification of Jones who was a stranger to Tameside.

“This was only achieved by securing evidence of his approach and exit to the scene and I am very grateful to them and the officer in the case who worked tirelessly and under significant pressure to get this to where we are today.

“People like this should not be free to roam our streets and put our young population at risk – something GMP are committed to.

“If you have any information regarding any such crimes, we encourage you to get in touch with us. You will be believed and we will help you.

“You can contact us 24 hours a day via 101 or through our Live Chat function on our website, www.gmp.police.uk. You can also pass information anonymously through the independent charity – Crimestoppers – on 0800 555 111.”