Nottinghamshire man who groomed and sexually abused girls jailed

Barlow denied all the allegations against him but was found guilty by a jury

A man who groomed and sexually assaulted three teenage girls has been jailed for 15 years.

Police said Richard Barlow was arrested in July 2020 when officers were alerted to a sexual relationship he had been in with a child.

Analysis of his phone led to further victims being identified.

Barlow, 39, of St Edmund's Avenue, Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, was found guilty of eight child sex offences at Nottingham Crown Court.

Drugs used

Police said the victim who reported Barlow had been groomed and exploited in a similar manner to the other girls.

She told officers Barlow would praise her repeatedly before making sexual advances.

The investigation team were told by one of the girls that Barlow had used Class A drugs to leave her incapacitated.

On his phone, officers also found footage of his assaults and messages pressuring one of his victims not to report him to police.

Another exchange saw Barlow discussing the date of birth of one of his victims - proving he knew her age at the time of his offending.

Barlow - who was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order - denied all the allegations against him but was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of sexual assault and two counts of making indecent images of a child.