Vile Wigan paedophile who raped a child is jailed for 19 years

Police today praised Richard Moore’s two victims for their courage in coming forward with the allegations of historical abuse which led to the pervert's confessions.

The 62-year-old former sailor of Park Crescent, Wigan, was this week given a 19-year jail sentence and a further 12 months on extended licence.

He had been due to stand trial at Chester Crown Court after denying a total of eight charges concerning offences alleged to have happened in Cheshire between 1988 and 1992.

But before the hearing started, he pleaded guilty to three of them – including the most serious of rape – and the remainder were allowed to lie on file.

Moore admitted to the rape of a girl under 16 and two counts of indecently assaulting a girl under 14.

There were two complainants – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – one of whom was the victim of the rape and one of the assaults.

The other charges, which Moore had denied, were four further counts of indecent assault of an under-14 and one of gross indecency with an under-16.

After the hearing Det Con Vicki Abraham said: "I would like to praise the bravery of the victims who had the immense courage to come forward and report these offences to police.

"Justice has been served and I hope that this sentence can, in some way, bring some kind of closure to the victims and their families.

"I also hope that this case and the sentence that has been passed to Moore will encourage other victims of sexual offences to come forward and report them to Cheshire Police.

"Any allegation, regardless of how long ago it relates to, will be thoroughly investigated with victims being our main priority.

"All victims will receive the help and support they need from our specialist teams."