MAN JAILED FOR GROOMING AND ABUSING TEENAGE GIRLS
In 2021, Kieran Ridgway drew the attention of law enforcement after reports from worried parents of two teenage girls came in.Ridgway engaged with the girls on Snapchat using an alias, initiating conversations by asking random questions.
When the girls responded, he continued the dialogue and offered them alcohol if they performed sexual acts on him.
The initial report in July 2021 was assigned to Detective Constable Stacey Swan, part of the force’s Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) unit.
She discovered that the girls, aged 12 and 13, had met a man in a car park who promised them alcohol in exchange for sexual acts.
On that occasion, there was no physical contact, and the girls informed their parents.
This investigation led DC Swan to arrest 29-year-old Ridgway in October 2021.
Her work uncovered additional victims contacted similarly.
Three girls under 16 reported being approached by Ridgway via social media, gradually forming friendships with him.
He lied about his age and exploited their vulnerability to manipulate them.
Between June 2017 and February 2020, Ridgway engaged in sexual activity with all three victims.
One girl believed she was in a relationship with him, yet he continued contacting underage girls.
During interviews, Ridgway claimed an unknown third party had created a fake Snapchat profile under the name ‘Josh Whitcombe’ using his details.
He denied requesting sexual acts and said he bought alcohol for the girls as a gesture of kindness.
Following a trial in May, Ridgway, from Coalville, was convicted of five charges including penetrative sexual activity with a child, non-penetrative sexual activity with a child, sexual communication with a child, meeting a child through grooming, and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
On July 10th, he was sentenced to nine years in prison, with an additional three-year extended license period post-release.
The court also issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Ridgway was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
