Sex beast jailed for raping young boy

JAILED . . . Gareth Hulme

A 25-YEAR-OLD man at the centre of an international paedophile ring has been jailed for raping a 10-year-old boy.

The arrest of Gareth Hulme led to 23 other forces, including Interpol, making arrests as well as Greater Manchester Police tracing other potential child-sex offenders, of which two have been charged and one cautioned.

Hulme, of no fixed address, was sentenced to an indeterminate sentence for public protection at Manchester Crown Square and will have to serve a minimum of seven years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

He admitted 24 charges of child-sex offences and possessing and distributing indecent images at an earlier hearing.

Hulme’s offences included arranging and facilitating child-sex offences, the rape of a 10-year-old boy, grooming and sexual activity with a 15-year-old boy.

The investigation, codenamed Operation Impact, began when Hulme, from Gorton, exchanged messages with a man through an Internet chat and dating website.

Hulme told the other man he had once forced a nine-year-old boy into having sex with him. Shocked by what Hulme told him, the man contacted police with proof of the conversation.

Inquiries revealed numerous messages from Hulme to other men online where he detailed his desire for sexual encounters involving incest, rape and young children.

Hulme was traced to a Tameside security firm, where he worked as a manager, and arrested in June, 2009. While officers were arresting him, they were informed that a colleague had seen Hulme with a young boy in May, 2009.

Officers managed to trace the 10-year-old boy with the limited information they were given and discovered that Hulme had befriended the child and raped him.

Hulme’s other victim was a 15-year-old schoolboy he began talking to on a social networking website designed specifically for children. He eventually met the victim in May, 2009, and engaged in sexual activity after grooming him over the Internet.

Det-Con Jordan McGowan, from Greater Manchester Police’s Operation Impact team, said: “What Hulme did to these boys was horrific and has led to two families dealing with issues that nobody should ever have to face.

“Special thanks must go to the victims and their families who had the courage to speak out about what happened. Because of them Hulme is now facing a long time in prison.”


Three others arrested

Three other men arrested during Operation Impact have been dealt with as follows:

Lee Dickenson (22), of Cottonfield Road, Withington, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an indecent image of child. He was sentenced to a three-year community order and a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) for three years at Manchester Magistrates’ Court in May.

Brian Porritt (58), of Britannia Road, Sale, has been charged with 15 counts of making an indecent image of a child, four counts of possessing an indecent image of a child, one count of possessing extreme pornographic images and possession of cocaine. He will appear at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court in August.

A 21-year-old man has been cautioned for making indecent images of a child and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for two years.