A 21-year-old man has admitted to having sex with a “vulnerable” missing child before she was discovered hiding under a bed.
Toby Ashley wasn’t yet 18 when the unnamed girl, aged under 13, went missing in Rochdale after she told her family she would go out for “a few hours” to meet a relative. When she failed to show up, police were called and she was reported missing, with investigators tracking her to a flat in the Greater Manchester town the following day. Manchester Crown Court heard officers were told by Ashley after gaining entry that he had not seen the missing girl for a week, only to discover she was hidden underneath the bed.
The Manchester Evening News reports prosecutor Eve Salter told the court on Friday that police heard two voices saying “shhhh” after entering the property, and Ashley was arrested at the scene. Ms Salter confirmed that swabs taken from the girl revealed traces of his DNA, telling the court there was evidence of “planning”, and the girl was “vulnerable”.
Judge Matthew Corbett-Jones, agreeing the girl was vulnerable, said she had “never co-operated” with the following police investigation, and had not been formally interviewed by officers.
He told the court it was “clear from the evidence” the girl “was a willing participant in the sexual activity that you engaged in”.
He added there was evidence the girl had lied about her age, telling the court he believed she was aged 15 when they had sex.
The judge said: “You have consistently maintained you believed her to be 15 years of age and I accept on the basis of evidence before this court that was your belief.”
He continued: “There’s no evidence of coercion, exploitation or pressure placed upon her by you.” Ashley, who has no previous convictions, was handed a community sentence after Sara Haque, defending, argued her client lacked maturity at the time of the offence.
The court was told the defendant was someone who “might be regarded as being vulnerable”, and was in the care of a local authority at the time of the crime.
He felt “isolated” after being separated from his family, Judge Corbett-Jones handed Ashley, who has no previous convictions, a community sentence after Sara Haque, defending, argued her client lacked maturity at the time of the offence.
He concluded the now 21-year-old had “genuine remorse” and was given an 18-month community order after admitting two offences of sexual activity with a child.
Ashley must complete 26 sessions of the “Building Choices” program run by the Probation Service, and 15 rehabilitation activity days.
He must also carry out 160 hours of unpaid work and to pay a £22 victim surcharge.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
