Judge criticises Merseyside Police delays that allowed man to sexually assault six-year-old
The following story contains graphic details of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing
A judge has criticised police delays in charging a paedophile who left a six-year-old girl "bruised" and "bloodied" after he snatched her as "extremely troubling".
Lewis Jones, 24, was arrested by Merseyside Police after grooming and sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl he met through Snapchat in 2020, Manchester Crown Court heard.
He was still under investigation two years later, which left him free to attack a little girl who was playing with other children making a den in a park on a summer afternoon 2022 in Droylsden, Greater Manchester.
Judge Manley said delays by police in charging and prosecuting offenders before they commit further offences is “an extremely troubling state of affairs” and this case was an “egregious example”.
She said: “The net result is, in this case, this defendant, if he had been charged when he should have been, would not have been at liberty to abduct this six-year-old girl."
Jones, formerly of Brocklebank Lane, Allerton, Liverpool, was deemed a dangerous offender as he was jailed for life with a minimum of 12 years’ jail before parole by Judge Hilary Manley.
He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to four counts of sexual activity with a child and assault by penetration relating to a girl aged 12 and 13, and making indecent images of children, between January and June 2020.
Aged 21 at the time, he claimed to be a Year 10 school pupil aged 14 and had sex with the girl, who believed they were in a relationship, the court heard.
The effects on the girl have been “catastrophic” and she is now living in care.
He also admitted two counts of assault by penetration to the six-year-old in August 2022.
Following this, Jones visited a play area at about 4pm on 17 August last summer.
Vanessa Thomson, prosecuting, told the court he first sat on a bench, taking photos on his phone of female children playing nearby.
He then approached, offering to help make the den, then grabbed the girl, covering her mouth with his hand and running off.
A girl, 11, realised what happened and told the other children to run for help, and shouted out for the police to be called, prompting a search to begin immediately, the court heard.
Jones stuck his fingers in the girl’s mouth, knocking a tooth out, choked her and told her she was not going home if she made a noise as he carried her to woodland.
He then ordered her to get on the ground and sexually assaulted the girl, including taking indecent photographs, but was disturbed after hearing her name being called by people searching nearby.
Twenty-five minutes later, bruised, bloodied and injured from the attack, the girl wandered to a house screaming, “Help me, I’ve been kidnapped”.
Examined by doctors, the girl showed signs of injury to her private parts and Jones’ semen was found on her underwear, but the court heard forensically it was impossible to say if he had raped the girl, who was too young and traumatised to give a full account to police.
After the attack, Jones fled along a canal towpath, but handed himself in the next day after police issued a CCTV image of the suspect.
He initially denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement to the court, the girl’s mother said her daughter’s behaviour has seen a “significant” deterioration with chronic separation anxiety and always wanting to be with her parents, is anxious, wary of males, will not play outside and has “completely shut down”.
She added: “The heartache I feel is immense. I feel very angry that he has done this to us. I feel disgusted and rage almost daily.”
A local neighbourhood police officer told the court he had never known a crime to cause such an impact on the local community, with parents now too scared to let their children play outside.
Jones was arrested on 15 June 2020 and police found 102 child abuse images on his phone, involving girls aged as young as nine.
He was then released by police and went to live with his father, who had moved from Liverpool to Manchester, where he carried out the second attack.
The prosecution said Jones was released under investigation by Merseyside Police, adding: “It appears that it took two years to build a file and then that failed internal police triage anyway, due to personnel, retirement and third-party records.”
ITV Granada Reports has approached Merseyside Police for comment.
Detective Superintendent Gareth Jenkins from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) 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."
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Kameen from Merseyside Police said: “We acknowledge the comments made by Judge Manley in the sentencing of Lewis Jones.
“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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