Grantham paedophile guilty of decades-long campaign of abuse

Christopher Manning, 38, from Grantham will be sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on 16 March

A paedophile is facing a lengthy prison sentence after being found guilty of sexually abusing children as young as seven over a 20 year period.

Christopher Manning, from Grantham, was convicted after trial of 21 charges, including rape, at Lincoln Crown Court.

Following the hearing, David Levett from the National Crime Agency (NCA) described him as a "dangerous sexual offender".

Manning, 38, of Dalton Close, is due to be sentenced on 16 March.

The NCA said Manning was arrested in February 2022 after he was found to be sharing indecent images and encouraging the abuse of children online.

During their investigation officers discovered he had repeatedly raped one of his victims over a 14 year period, starting when she was just seven.

He had also raped and abused a vulnerable boy over the course of a decade and sexually assaulted two girls when they were aged 11 and 13.

The NCA said they also found evidence that he had attempted to groom young girls online, asking them to send indecent images of themselves via snapchat.

Following his conviction Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight ordered a pre-sentence report, asking for it to address the issue of dangerousness, telling the defendant: "I am concerned about the risk you pose to other people."

Mr Levett said: "Christopher Manning is a dangerous sexual offender who committed grave abuse against children over more than two decades and was targeting young girls online right up to the point of his arrest.

"Manning's crimes left his innocent victims physically and emotionally traumatised, yet many of them bravely gave evidence during his trial. Their voices have been heard and they have helped to secure his conviction."