Description
A paedophile who groomed, exploited, and coerced two teenage girls into sex work in the early 2000s has been sentenced to 13 years in prison today (Wednesday 25th June 2025) at Manchester Crown Court.
Christopher Oates (28/11/1979) of Tannock Road, Stockport, has been brought to justice after he subjected vulnerable girls to a campaign of violence and sexual abuse twenty years ago.
He groomed one of the survivors from when she was 14 years old. He provided her with a false sense of security, paid her compliments, and pretended to be her boyfriend.
The court heard how this relationship progressed, as Oates plied her with drugs, gifts, and affection, using the trust and control he gained to persuade her to start sex work on the streets of Manchester.
When she began to doubt his intentions and asked to go home, Oates dragged the teenage girl down an alleyway, violently attacked her, and threatened her with a gun, stating: You do as I say, youre mine now, commanding her to go to her spot.
While Oates had frequently been abusive towards her, this incident was the catalyst for change.
She confided in her mother and support services and found the strength to move forward with her life, while courageously supporting our police investigation.
In a victim impact statement, that was read out in court, she said: One of the hardest pills to swallow has always been how, how can one human being make another do something so extreme.
To have to read letters I wrote idolising this man, professing my love for him, and telling everybody that would listen he was my boyfriend is heartbreaking. The trust I remember feeling, the love and how special I must have felt at a time when I felt completely alone in the world is what Ive had to accept is the how I would have done anything, and you used that for your own sick advantage.
You groomed me, you put a gun to my head, and not only did you abuse me, but you let other men too. The fear, the pain and confusion I felt I cant begin to put into words. And the impact of this?
Even now I struggle to trust my own judgements 20 years later; I cant make simple decisions without feeling wrong, overwhelmed, and panicked. I still dont trust me.
Detectives investigating this case were able to identify a second victim, who was 17 years old when Oates coerced her into sex work.
This girl only knew Oates by the nickname Nails due to his long fingernails. It was through this recollection and viewing images of Oates at the time, along with similar victim accounts, that we were able to identify Oates as the offender.
The two victims recall Oates taking them to a designated spot in central Manchester at least once a week to carry out sex acts in cars for money. One night, he organised for them to have sex in a room with a man while being recorded on video.
Oates would supply both victims with cocaine and alcohol and pressured them to take crack cocaine and heroin, aiming to build an addiction and increase their dependency on him, but they declined and managed to escape.
The second victim in this case also provided an impact statement, which stated: I was bullied and manipulated and the person responsible for this was Christopher Oates.
At the time when the exploitation was happening, I felt ashamed, embarrassed, and pressured by Oates. I felt absolutely vile during and after the incident involving the video camera and also when I stood on street corners, I felt scared about who would be in the next car that stopped, and I was terrified.
Since this time, I have regularly had to pass the location of where this happened when travelling on the train, and I have had to look away and look out the other side, so I did not need to see it.
Operation Green Jacket
This case formed one of 15 live investigations running under Operation Green Jacket, led by our Child Sexual Exploitation Major Incident Team, dedicated to securing long-awaited justice for victims of non-recent child sexual abuse in Manchester.
Since Operation Green Jacket was launched in 2019, we have arrested 73 suspects and conducted over 1,300 interviews.
Identifying, tracing, and pursuing our suspect
Oates is the first offender to be sentenced following a long and complex investigation. Our enquiries commenced in November 2012 when a warrant was executed at his property in relation to drug offences.
Oates was not present, and three days later he flew from Heathrow to Bangkok. However, his mobile device was seized, and digital examinations revealed it contained 130 indecent images of children alongside searches for related content.
In 2021, detectives investigating Operation Green Jacket wanted to speak with Oates. His passport records indicated he remained in Thailand. Through extensive enquiries, the investigation team was able to establish that Oates had been living in the Dominican Republic and returning to the UK intermittently before moving back.
In November 2023, Oates was arrested at an address in Stockport where he was cultivating cannabis and in possession of a significant quantity. He also had a passport with his photo and a false name, as well as a matching driving licence and bank card. Oates had travelled using this documentation on at least five occasions.
Officers seized his tablet containing indecent images of children and evidence that Oates was sending sexualised messages to a child through social media.
In April 2024, on what would have been the first day of trial, Oates pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images of children, taking indecent images of children, and attempting to engage a child in sexual communication. He also pleaded to the production of cannabis and two counts of possessing an identity document with improper intent.
Oates was remanded into custody. On 5th September 2024, he was postal charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 15 years old and two counts causing / inciting a child aged 13 17 years to prostitution.
In March earlier this year on the fourth day of his trial, Oates admitted to the offences.
Today (25/06/2025) he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for all his crimes.