PETER MARTIN SALE'S MOST EVIL AND CUNNING PAEDOPHILE SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN MANCHESTER

In September 1996, Peter Martin, a man with a disturbing history of criminal behavior, was sentenced to a lengthy term of 20 years in prison for his heinous crimes involving the systematic abuse of teenage girls. Martin, aged 56 at the time, was a former policeman and had established himself as a manager of a model agency in Sale, a town in Cheshire. His position within the agency was exploited as a means to gain access to vulnerable young girls, some of whom were still undergoing counseling and faced lifelong emotional scars as a result of his actions.

As he was led from Manchester Crown Court to begin serving his sentence, Martin displayed a disturbing smile and winked at the gathered crowd, showing no remorse for his crimes. The judge presiding over the case, Judge Brian Carter QC, condemned Martin's deliberate manipulation of his role in the modeling industry to prey on young girls. The judge emphasized that Martin's actions had caused irreparable harm, with some victims potentially unable to lead normal lives again due to the trauma inflicted upon them.

The jury's verdict was unanimous, finding Martin guilty of six counts of rape and five counts of indecent assault, crimes committed over a span of 13 years. Additionally, he was convicted of two charges related to taking indecent photographs of girls under the age of 16. The trial, which lasted two months, revealed horrifying details about Martin's methods and the extent of his abuse.

Prosecutor Helen Grindrod described how girls as young as 11 and 12 were brought to Martin’s agency by their mothers, under the pretense of seeking modeling opportunities. Instead, Martin allegedly drugged these young girls with hypnotic substances disguised as slimming and vitamin pills, then subjected them to degrading and violent sexual acts. Police investigations uncovered 482 videotapes hidden behind an air vent in Martin’s residence, depicting girls being weighed naked and filmed without their consent.

Further allegations detailed how Martin forced the girls to engage in violent sex acts at his home in Sale, Cheshire. Victims reported being physically assaulted, with hair pulling, face slapping, and sometimes being bound and gagged during these assaults. Throughout these ordeals, victims were allegedly told they enjoyed the pain, a manipulation that added to the trauma they endured.

Martin, who denied the charges, faced accusations of raping eight girls and committing six counts of indecent assault, five of which involved girls under 16. Among his victims was a 16-year-old girl who had previously been raped by Owen Oyston at his Claughton Hall country estate near Lancaster. This girl was forced into a sex act by Oyston in the back of Martin’s car during a journey to Oyston’s estate. Oyston was later sentenced to six years in prison for his crimes, which included rape and indecent assault, by Liverpool Crown Court earlier that year.

Victims and members of the public expressed relief and a sense of justice as Martin was finally held accountable for his actions. The case highlighted the disturbing abuse of power and trust by a man who exploited his position in the community to commit these heinous acts in Sale, Cheshire.