Locations
Milnthorpe Way, Manchester, M12
Description
A sex offender has been jailed for offences against children that took place almost 20 years apart.
Christopher Atherton (02/07/1978), of Milnthorpe Way, Manchester, was jailed for 13 years at Manchester Minshull Street Court this week (1/9/25) following an earlier trial.
His offences against two girls in the Trafford area dated back to the early 2000s.
He was found guilty of sexual assault of a child under 13 and causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity relating to an incident in 2019.
Atherton was also found guilty of three charges – two of indecent assault and sexual assault - dating back to between 2001 and 2004 when his female victim was aged under 16.
Detective Constable Steve Matthias, of our Trafford Child Protection Unit, said:
“Atherton put his victims through two ordeals, firstly by carrying out this horrific abuse and then compounding that by denying his criminality and making them testify at his trial.
“The judge deemed him to be a significant risk of causing serious harm in the future and a danger to girls, and ordered that he remains on Sex Offender Register for life.
“I would like to commend the victims for coming forward to report his crimes and for giving evidence at his trial – that cannot have been easy.
“We want to reassure all victims and survivors that they will be supported regardless of how long has passed since the abuse took place and we will investigate all allegations.”