CHILD RAPIST GIVEN 23-YEAR SENTENCE
A man described as 'depraved' for grooming and raping a teenage girl has been sentenced to over 20 years in prison.Christopher Wearing, aged 42, was described by Judge Graham Knowles at Preston Crown Court as having undertaken an 'extreme course of grooming' of a girl aged 13.
The court was told that Wearing, who lives on Howard Close in Accrington, fabricated the identity of a 16-year-old boy working in cryptocurrency to appear appealing to the girl in online conversations.
Wearing initiated contact via the social media platform Wink, before the conversations moved to Kik messenger.
Over nine days, they exchanged in excess of 2,500 messages, with Wearing increasingly sending sexual messages under the guise of expressing love.
The situation worsened when Wearing, still pretending to be the 16-year-old boy, asked the girl if she would sleep with a man he knew to make him happy — which meant himself.
The girl agreed to meet and travelled by bus and train to Wearing’s house on February 20, 2023.
During the night, Wearing committed serious crimes against her.
The incident was interrupted only when the girl’s mother, monitoring her daughter’s phone, called her, which led to Wearing trying to dismiss her and directing her to leave via the back door, climbing a fence to avoid being caught.
CCTV footage showed her attempting and failing to climb the fence, eventually emerging from Wearing’s back gate.
Wearing was arrested the following day and remained silent during police interviews.
In a victim impact statement, the girl expressed feeling confused and sad, stating she was unsure of what was happening.
Judge Knowles stated that Wearing manipulated her with cunning and determination, exploiting her vulnerability as a child.
The court noted his control over her mind and actions, indicating he was a dangerous offender.
Wearing admitted to multiple charges, including rape, meeting a girl under 16 following grooming, sexual activity in the presence of a child aged 13 to 15, engaging in sexual communication with a child, assault by penetration of a female aged over 13, and non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15.
He received a sentence of 23 years, comprising 15 years in prison and an eight-year extended license, with a minimum of 10 years before he can apply for parole.
He will also face lifetime notification obligations and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
