Dinato Rizzi 67

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A 'perverted' 66-year-old man abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl he had met online. Dinato Rizzi knew the girl was under 16 and had planned how he would cover his tracks if he was caught, a Leicestershire Police investigation found.

Rizzi, of Netherhall, Leicester, The court heard he had been in contact with the child online and later said he was not aware of her age - a claim described by a detective on the case as "completely absurd".

Rizzi's victim bravely shared her experience with specialist officers after her mother discovered she had been in touch with him. The mum contacted police in January to say her daughter had disclosed she met a man online and had been to his home in of New Romney Crescent.

She provided screenshots of messages the man and her daughter had exchanged. The girl then told police that she met with Rizzi on a number of occasions over the previous weeks and sexual activity had taken place between them at his address.

Detectives from the force's child sexual exploitation team investigated and subsequently arrested Rizzi and later charged him with a number of crimes against the child. He was found guilty of 13 offences following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court and was sentenced on on Friday, October 21.

Detective Constable Sue Cockerill, who investigated the case, said officers uncovered messages exchanged between the two where Rizzi, who is known locally as Dean or Deano, acknowledged the girl was under 16 and how he would cover his tracks if he got caught.

Detectives are still investigating Rizzi and suspect he could have other victims. Det con Cockerill added that investigators are examining devices recovered from his home and suspect he may have been in contact with other girls.

She said: “Rizzi claimed that he didn't know that the girl was under 18, a claim which is completely absurd. Anyone who takes one look at this young girl can see she is that – a young girl who doesn’t even look like she could be 16 years old let alone 18.

“She told him her real age and this man simply chose to ignore it, sexually exploiting her and taking advantage of her vulnerabilities for his own perverted gratification. This young girl and her family have been through a terrible ordeal. 

"She has been exceptionally brave in recalling her interactions with Rizzi. I hope now, finally, she and her family can start to rebuild their lives and move past what has happened.

“I would like to thank Claire Fraser KC and Sarah Holland from the Crown Prosecution Service for their significant hard work and commitment in bringing this case before the court and securing a conviction against Rizzi. We are continuing our investigation into Rizzi which includes the examination of devices recovered from his home.

"We suspect that he may have been in contact with other girls and could well have committed sexual offences against others. I would therefore urge anyone who may have been a victim to please contact us. We have officers who are trained to speak sensitively to children who may have been victims of similar offences.”

Rizzi was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life. He was

A jury found Rizzi guilty of the following offences between December 2021 and 27 January 2022

• Two counts under the Child Abduction Act namely taking a child so as to keep her
• from a person having lawful control
• One count of taking indecent photographs of a child
• One count of taking an indecent image of a child
• One count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration
• Four counts of rape of a child under 13
• Two counts of One count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration
• Two counts of rape of a child under 13

The young victim's mother has shared the impact of the offences on her daughter in a statement, which she said will affect her for the rest of her life. The mum said: “She should be at a point in her life where she is looking forward to her future but she feels she doesn’t have one.

"She can’t see her friends as much and her schoolwork has suffered massively. Her social development has suffered in many ways as well and she continues to sleep in my room at night," she said.

Detective Inspector Gary Bee, who leads the force’s exploitation team, said: “This case highlights the dangers that can lurk online and the sophisticated methods that sexual perpetrators use to exploit young and vulnerable children. It’s a timely reminder to all parents to ensure that they have safeguards in place at home to understand their children’s use of the internet and social media.

“Rizzi’s level of offending against such a young child is particularly concerning and I would urge anybody with any concerns around historic or ongoing abuse by him to contact Leicestershire Police, your concerns will be dealt with confidentially and by specially trained officers.”