Mark Whalley 72

Description

A 'dangerous offender' who plotted to sexually abuse a 12 week-old baby at a Manchester city centre hotel has been locked up.

Mark Whalley, 71, who was also found in possession of a sickening library of child abuse images, was brought to justice after a National Crime Agency investigation was launched following intelligence received from law enforcement agencies thousands of miles away in Norway.

The NCA said Whalley was arrested before he could even get into the lift in a foyer area of the hotel during an undercover operation. No baby was at the hotel.

He told officers who swooped on him that he was at the unnamed hotel because he was having an affair, but went on to plead guilty to a raft of charges. Whalley, of Wharf Close in Manchester city centre, has now been jailed for six years and eight months.

The NCA said after receiving intelligence from Norwegian law enforcement partners, agency investigators found Whalley had discussed his sexual interest in children under 12 years of age on an encrypted online platform.

He had shared indecent images of children with other users on the site, and described the extreme abuse he wanted to engage in, said the NCA in a statement.

It was discovered Whalley used the platform to message an individual who said they had access to a baby, and discussed a meeting, said the agency.

The NCA said in a statement: "Whalley was arrested by NCA officers on suspicion of child abuse offences before he could get in the lift at the hotel. At this point, he told officers they were mistaken and attempted to pass the meeting off as an affair.

"After initially pleading guilty to making and distributing indecent images of children, he later pleaded guilty to an additional count of arranging a child sex offence.

"Whalley had arranged to abuse the baby while subject to a separate investigation in which indecent images of children had been recovered from his devices in 2021."

Whalley pleaded guilty to arranging a child sex offence; two counts of making indecent images of children; possession of extreme pornographic images and three counts of distribution of an indecent image of children. He was sentenced for all of the offences at Manchester Crown Court on 23 October 2023.

Daniel Waywell, NCA Operations Manager, said Whalley was 'a dangerous offender who had clear intentions'. "As a result of close collaboration with colleagues here in the UK and overseas, we were able to intervene and arrest him, and he will now spend years behind bars for his crimes," he said.

"The NCA works tirelessly to ensure that children are protected from sexual abuse, identifying the offenders who pose the highest risk and ensuring that they are held accountable."