‘Predatory paedophile’ who went on the run jailed
A “predatory paedophile” who went on the run after being arrested for abusing a 14-year-old girl he met on social media has been jailed.
Gareth John Skipsey Hughes, of Salford, met the girl in 2012 and went on to abuse her for five years.
After his arrest in 2016, the 43-year-old used aliases to evade prosecution, eventually being caught in January.
He admitted 18 counts and was sentenced to six years, eight months in prison at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
Greater Manchester Police said Hughes, of Booth Street, initially told the girl he was 26 and would drive her to his home, but later, he would make her walk there straight from school.
He made videos of himself abusing her and stored them on a work computer, a spokesman said.
‘Answer for his past’
The abuse stopped when, at the age of 19, the girl left the area and subsequently reported what happened to police.
Arresting Hughes in November 2016, police found dozens of sexual conversations to young girls on his computer.
After being released on bail, the 43-year-old went on the run, using fake names, swapping phone numbers and using pre-paid credit cards for financial transactions.
However, he was traced to a new workplace and arrested in January.
In court, he admitted five counts of sexual activity with a child, two of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, eight of making an indecent image of a child, two of distributing an indecent photo of a child and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image.
Speaking after sentencing, Det Con Jon Greenslade said Hughes was a “predatory paedophile”, who was “fully aware of the girl’s age but decided to pursue the relationship nevertheless”.
“Ultimately, he could not evade justice and today, he’s had to answer for his past behaviour,” he added.- BBC
