As a grooming investigation rumbled on, a paedophile was free to kidnap child
01.05.2023 - 17:59
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
As Judge Hilary Manley jailed Lewis Jones for life at Manchester Crown Court, her words left the top ranks of Merseyside Police concerned.
Predatory paedophile Jones may not have been free to kidnap and violently sexually assault a six-year-old girl if the police had acted more quickly, the court heard. Jones, 24, abducted the child while she played with friends on a field in Droylsden, Tameside.
The victim was left bloodied and traumatised following the horrifying sexual attack, which was committed in broad daylight in August last year. At the time Jones was already known to police in Merseyside, who had interviewed him in relation to the sexual abuse of a child committed in 2020.
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Last week, Jones, formerly of Brocklebank Lane in Allerton, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 years over the prolonged sexual assault. 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'.
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.
When the 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 cops, in June 2020 and April 2021, but he was released under investigation with '"no fetters on his liberty", Judge Manley said, rather than on bail - which allows police to impose strict restrictions on a suspect's movements.
Jones, who had a history of