Wigan man accused of child sex offences took his own life

James Hunter, of Ince Green Lane, Ince, had been charged along with another man, Mark Rosiek, who has now been jailed for six years eight months.

Sentencing 34-year-old Rosiek, who had admitted nine offences involving sexual activity with two boys and inciting or causing child pornography, Judge Norman Wright said that one victim told how Hunter had videod him while “making a porno.”

Rosiek, of Oldcastle Avenue, Newcastle-under-Lyme, suffers from autism but the judge pointed out that there were occasions showing he had made his own decisions. Liverpool Crown Court heard that the offences he had admitted took place between August 2010 and October last year.

The two men met while both at residential school and later were in the same accommodation and became friends. “That led to you committing these offences,” said Judge Wright.

“Hunter was determined not to face justice and took his own life. He was clearly more sophisticated in criminal offending than you are.

“Hunter committed offences against children well before the dates in this indictment, but there is no evidence you were offending.

“I am sure you were aware of what was going on but you did not participate, not because you were not influenced but because you chose not to.”

Judge Wright said that eventually Rosiek decided to join in. “There were two victims. You did not groom either of these victims, they were groomed by Hunter but you took advantage of what was on offer to participate in sexual activity.”

He said there was some suggestion that Rosiek had used his autism as “a shield” but he pointed out that he had shown he could make his own choices.

Rosiek was ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order was imposed. Hunter, 35, had been charged with two counts of sexual activity with a child and possession of indecent images of children but died before entering any pleas.

After the hearing Det Con Ian Pennington, of GMP’s Wigan Phoenix Child Sexual Exploitation team, said: “The sentence reflects the seriousness of the abuse that young boys endured at the hands of Rosiek over a number of years. I want to commend the boys who spoke with GMP officers for their bravery in detailing the awful way in which they were sexually exploited and reliving those disturbing occasions.

“Rosiek is a predatory individual who took advantage of impressionable children and even took them to Alton Towers in order to gain their trust.”

And an NSPCC spokesperson said: “Rosiek’s victims have shown incredible bravery in speaking out and it is this courage that has helped put a predatory paedophile behind bars. Rosiek’s abuse of these young boys was absolutely abhorrent, both in the methods used to manipulate his victims and gain their trust - and the horrific abuse that he recorded for his own satisfaction.”