June 2015

Didsbury pervert forced young girls to strip with threat of hacking computers

A Didsbury pervert, who forced young girls to expose themselves by threatening to hack their computers, was sentenced to five years in prison at Manchester Crown Court today.

Rowan Dickinson, 26, of Gaddum Road, Didsbury, had previously pleaded guilty to 10 charges of making indecent images of children and four charges of inciting a child to commit a sexual act.

The logs seized from Dickinson showed he had threatened to hack his victim’s personal files and distribute them to their friends and family unless they complied with his demands.

PC Sarah Collins said: “Dickinson used the internet as a hunting ground and preyed on these young girls, threatening them until they gave in to his demands. 

“This has been a long and tough investigation which has been quite emotionally draining for all involved.

“I hope the sentence passed today can go some way to giving the victims some closure.”

Police began to investigate in August 2013 when they received intelligence that a man known as ‘James’ had contacted a 13-year-old girl and asked her to perform sexual acts on webcam.

He had told the victim that in exchange for performing sexual acts on webcam, he would protect them from another user who wanted kidnap her and force her into prostitution.

Officers were able to identify two of the pervert’s victims, who agreed to help with the investigation, both of whom were 13-years-old when the offence occurred.

They then traced him to an address in Didsbury thanks to the information provided, where Dickinson was arrested and several electronic devices were seized.

Examination of the devices seized found a number of indecent images of children, along with logs of explicit communication with juveniles of varying ages.

PC Collins added: “I would like to pay tribute to the victims and their families who assisted us with this investigation, I know it was very tough for them but their help played a huge part in getting this sentence passed today.” 

Dickinson has been sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely at Manchester Crown Court.