Lancashire predator Stuart Shorrock jailed for grooming 15-year-old girl

LANCASHIRE PREDATOR STUART SHORROCK JAILED FOR GROOMING 15-YEAR-OLD GIRL

A 'predatory' Lancashire pervert has been sentenced after sexually exploiting and grooming a 15-year-old girl who was reported missing from her home.

Stuart Shorrock, aged 33, met his teenage victim online in January 2023, claiming to be 19 years old.

They arranged to meet in person at various hotels.

In May 2023, following the girl being reported missing, police investigations led them to the Sleeperz Hotel in Newcastle where CCTV captured Shorrock checking in with false names.

Officers found evidence of sexual activity in the hotel room, and he was subsequently arrested for sexual exploitation.

During police interviews, the girl revealed how she met Shorrock online, and that they had met multiple times at hotels since January 2023 to engage in sexual activity.

Shorrock pleaded guilty to charges of penetrative sexual activity with a child, non-penetrative sexual activity with a child, and inciting a girl aged 13-15 to engage in sexual activity.

He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court and was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), required to sign the sex offenders register forever.

A restraining order was also imposed barring him from contacting the victim for five years.

The SHPO also includes restrictions on approaching under-16s, using false names on social media, deleting chat histories, undertaking work that might bring him into unsupervised contact with minors, and making hotel bookings for overnight stays under false names.

Investigating officer DC Helen Buckland commented that Shorrock groomed the victim by pretending to be a teenager himself and building an online relationship, describing his behavior as 'classic predatory.' She praised the courage of the victim and her family for supporting the case.