BRAIN YATES FROM BREIGHTMET SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES IN BOLTON

In a case that has shocked the local community of Breightmet and the wider Bolton area, Brian Yates, aged 51, has been sentenced to a decade behind bars for a series of heinous sexual offences committed against young girls. The crimes, spanning several years, involved the abuse of children as young as three, and Yates’s actions have left a lasting scar on his victims and their families.

Yates pleaded guilty to a total of 18 separate charges related to the sexual exploitation of children under the age of 13. His offending history includes a disturbing pattern of abuse that began in the late 1990s and continued into the mid-2000s. The first known victim was a seven-year-old girl for whom Yates was babysitting in late 1996. During this incident, while the girl was asleep in bed, Yates sexually assaulted her and then bribed her to keep quiet about what had happened, demonstrating a calculated attempt to conceal his actions.

Further offences came to light in December 2005, when Yates forced a three-year-old girl to touch him and subsequently took indecent photographs of her. The abuse did not stop there; from 2007 onwards, he engaged in a prolonged period of exploitation involving a nine-year-old girl, whom he abused over a span of more than three years. During this period, he also took indecent photographs of her, adding to the severity of his crimes.

The full extent of Yates’s criminal activities was only uncovered after the victims, now older, finally reported the abuse to the police last year. This led to a police search of Yates’s residence on Long Lane in Breightmet. During the search, officers seized his computer and mobile phone, discovering numerous indecent photographs of unidentified victims, which indicated a broader pattern of offending.

Following the police investigation, Yates went on the run, prompting a media appeal by detectives from Bolton CID in June of the previous year. Detective Constable Mike Mather, who was involved in the case, described Yates as a dangerous individual with a clear sexual attraction to children. He emphasized the gravity of the offences, noting that two of the victims were still minors at the time of the abuse.

Yates was eventually apprehended and brought to justice. He has been sentenced to serve seven years in prison, with an additional three years on licence. As part of his sentence, he will be required to sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and is prohibited from being alone with children under 16 or taking photographs of minors. These restrictions aim to prevent any further harm and protect potential future victims.

Detective Mather urged anyone who might have suffered similar abuse to come forward and report it to the police, providing contact details for Bolton CID and Crimestoppers. The case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance and the need to protect vulnerable children from predators like Brian Yates.