HYDE MAN DAVID REED SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES IN LEEDS AND MANCHESTER

In September 2020, a man from Hyde, Greater Manchester, was sentenced to prison for serious child sexual offences. The case involved David Reed, born on May 28, 1959, who resided on Fields Farm Road in Hyde. The court proceedings revealed that Reed had engaged in online communications with individuals he believed to be two 13-year-old girls. However, these individuals were actually adults operating as part of an online paedophile hunting team, aiming to catch predators like Reed.

During these interactions, Reed requested explicit images from the supposed minors, shared indecent photographs of himself, and instructed the girls to perform sexual acts on themselves. His intentions escalated when he arranged to meet the girls in person—one at his home in Hyde and the other in West Yorkshire, specifically Leeds. Reed traveled to Leeds, where he was confronted and detained by the adults who had set up the profiles. The police were called to the scene, leading to Reed’s arrest.

Following his detention, Reed was taken into police custody for questioning. He was subsequently charged with multiple serious offences, including six counts of attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity, attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. Reed pleaded guilty to all charges.

On Tuesday, September 8, 2020, Reed appeared before Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, where he was sentenced to 21 months in prison. Additionally, he was handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a requirement to register as a sex offender for the next ten years. The court’s decision reflects the gravity of his actions and the potential risk posed to the community.

DC Mike Allen, from Project Phoenix within Greater Manchester Police’s Tameside district, commented on the case: “Reed was communicating with who he thought were two 13-year-old girls but were in fact adults. He turned the conversation sexual—asking them to perform sexual acts on themselves to satisfy his desires. Reed went as far as arranging to meet these young people at his home, whilst his then partner would have been at work, and 40 miles away in Leeds. If he had been communicating with genuine minors, he could have committed further, serious offences which often have a long-lasting impact on victims.”