'Suspected paedo walked into a house with a boy, undercover cops watched and did nothing. I was disgusted'
17.09.2022 - 22:27
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Police watched as a boy walked into a house with a suspected paedophile under surveillance, a former detective has alleged.
Former GMP detective Rick Mortimer has told an employment tribunal that the man was believed to be 'dangerous', and abusing youngsters after 'getting them drunk'. But he alleges that when he suggested that police intervene to protect the boy, his superior officer said 'what we can't see, we don't know about'.
Rick Mortimer also alleged in the hearing that after he complained to bosses about the surveillance operation, his locker in the highly secure offices of the Serious Organised Crime Group of GMP was broken into and his notes about the operation were taken.
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Mr Mortimer, who retired in 2017 as a detective chief inspector after 30 years in policing and is now a civil servant, also alleged he was 'ostracised' after lodging a formal complaint.
The target of the surveillance operation wasn't named at the hearing but it is understood to be Dominic Noonan, who was jailed in 2018 for eleven years for 13 historical sex offences against four boys, the youngest aged 10.
In 2017 the police watchdog found that the decision not to intervene, made concerning the 2011 surveillance operation, was ‘in line with investigative strategy’.
The claims have emerged at Pete Jackson's employment tribunal in Manchester. Former detective superintendent Mr Jackson is suing Greater Manchester Police, alleging he was passed over for promotion after making whistle-blowing complaints.
He has alleged that there has been a 'rotten culture of cronyism' within Greater Manchester Police. He has previously made allegations about the surveillance