STUART PEACOCK JAILED FOR ABUSING SEVEN-YEAR-OLD BOY IN CHORLTON

In a harrowing case that has shocked the community of Chorlton, Stuart Peacock has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for the sexual abuse of a young boy. The abuse began when the victim was only seven years old, and the details emerged during a court trial that revealed a disturbing pattern of exploitation spanning several years.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Peacock, whose criminal history dates back to the 1960s, was involved in a series of heinous acts against the young boy in the 1980s. The victim, now an adult, provided testimony that implicated Peacock and also shed light on the involvement of the child's father, who is now deceased. The court was told that the father had supplied the boy to predators, including Peacock, as part of a disturbing pattern of abuse.

Prosecutor Zoe Nield explained that the victim believed his father had played a role in making him available to multiple sex offenders. She detailed how the abuse started at a very young age, with the boy being taken from his home in Chorlton to Peacock’s residence on Shawdene Road, Northenden. The court heard that during the 1980s, Peacock was one of three men involved in abusing the child. The victim recounted how his father would often tell his mother that they were visiting relatives or attending a football match, only to take him to Peacock’s home for the purpose of abuse.

The court was told that the abuse persisted for approximately six years. The young boy, conditioned by the repeated trauma, continued to visit Peacock even after his father ceased taking him there. During the trial, the victim described feeling 'dirty and used' upon realizing the nature of what had been done to him. Peacock, who previously resided on Shawdene Road in Northenden, would pay the boy a small amount of money—just a couple of pounds—until the day the boy understood that what was happening was wrong.

Despite maintaining his innocence throughout the trial, Peacock was convicted of 21 sex offences. His criminal record includes previous convictions for child sex offences in the 1980s and 1990s, with his first known sexual offence dating back to 1967. The court heard that Peacock was wanted by police but was taken ill with pneumonia in October of the previous year, which delayed his arrest.

Judge Patrick Field QC delivered the sentence, expressing his profound concern for the young victim. He stated, “One struggles to imagine how that young child felt when the adult male in whose care he had been left, a man whom he probably trusted to look after and keep him safe, subjected him to depraved abuse that young boy must have experienced at the very least confusion and fear, embarrassment and shame as you despoiled his innocence.” The judge’s words underscored the gravity of Peacock’s crimes and the devastating impact on the victim’s life.