LITTLE LEVER MAN JAILED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES
2000: Furious relatives of three girls who had been victims of abuse had to be physically restrained in court as a paedophile was convicted of eight sexual offences.Several police officers prevented angry family members, including the father of one victim who lunged towards Warren McMinn, a father of three, from reaching him.
The courtroom incident followed Judge John Roberts's comments, describing McMinn as a danger to young girls, and his sentencing of six years after a jury found him guilty of eight of nine indecency charges; he was acquitted on one count.
As the victim's father lunged, two officers from Group 4 quickly led him to a holding area, while authorities restrained and pacified the upset family members.
Later, he appeared before the judge for contempt of court but was not punished further due to the stress he was experiencing.
The father apologized and exited the courtroom, while other family members, visibly upset, cried and vocally expressed their distress, recounting that this was the second attack incident, the first occurring during the magistrates' hearing.
They then left through a different exit, accompanied by police escort to their vehicles.
McMinn, 54, residing on Booth Road in Little Lever, had denied nine indecency charges but was convicted on eight after a six-day trial at Bolton Crown Court.
The three girls claimed that McMinn gave them money, sweets, and cigarettes, and pressured them to touch his private parts through a hole in his pocket.
The offences emerged when one girl told her mother she had seen two others being indecently assaulted in McMinn’s car parked near some sheds.
McMinn was emotional at sentencing, with tears wiping his face as he was ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely and extend his supervision period by three years after release.
The judge described the offences, which involved encouraging the girls to commit acts of gross indecency, as "disgusting" and reiterated that he considered McMinn a threat to young girls.
He pointed out that the victims’ ages—nine and ten—and McMinn’s deliberate approach, using money and cigarettes to gain sexual access after school, were aggravating factors.
McMinn stated he had no sexual intent when speaking with the girls, but he acknowledged it would upset him if his own daughters behaved similarly with a stranger.
He also claimed the girls fabricated the story to cause trouble and denied exploiting them for sexual pleasure.
