'Drug takers, drinkers and and wastrels': The Greater Manchester house that became a 'lawless den of iniquity'
These pictures show the 'filthy hovel' where a Bolton grooming gang carried out unspeakable crimes against underage girls
Empty beer cans and cigarette ends strewn across the filthy floor, graffiti scrawled on the walls and a grimy duvet on a stained mattress.
This is the 'filthy hovel' where a Bolton grooming gang carried out vile crimes against underage girls. Yesterday the final six members of the gang were jailed at Liverpool Crown Court following a three month trial.
The abuse mainly took place in the Blackrod area near Bolton, often in the home of gang member Cory Barrett. There the victims were plied with alcohol, cannabis and cocaine before being raped and abused by the 10-strong gang.
The so-called 'party house' house on Vicarage Road West was described by Judge Simon Medland as a 'lawless den of iniquity'.
Speaking on Monday as he jailed ringleader Ashley Darbyshire, of Bolton Road, Westhoughton, the judge said: "In time you introduced [one of the victims] to your friends and acquaintances and the community of drug takers, drinkers and wastrels at the Vicarage Road West address of Cory Barrett which had become a lawless den of iniquity, a filthy hovel in which sexual offending, drug taking and drinking took place."
Darbyshire, 28, was jailed for 15 years after he admitted a string of 19 offences involving five girls - including one of raping a naked 15-year-old girl after tying her up before another defendant also raped her. The court heard he had a specific sexual interest in young teenage girls and had deliberately groomed and repeatedly sexually abused one victim from the age of 13.
In a harrowing impact statement she told the court she would 'rather be dead than deal with all this mental torture and memories'. She added: "I think nothing can hurt me as bad as what they did to me, but I'm still terrified of everything and everyone around me. I can't even go outside on my own.
"I suffered every form of abuse from each of these individuals and they continue to haunt me every day."
Yesterday (Tuesday) Jack Poulson, 32, of Bolton was jailed for 17 years after being convicted of two counts of rape, five counts of sexual activity with a child under 16, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and one count of sexual communications with a child.
Richard Haslam, 36, of Bolton, was convicted of two counts of rape, one count of oral rape, two counts of sexual activity with a child under 16 and one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and jailed for 16 years.
Daniel Flatters, 34, of Bolton, was found guilty of of four counts of sexual activity with a child under the age of 16 and admitted supplying cocaine and aggravated taking without consent. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
James Fitzgerald, 36, of Bolton, was convicted of one count of sexual assault by penetration and jailed for five and a half years. Cory Barrett, 24, of Wigan, was convicted of three counts of rape, one count of oral rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Elliott Turner, 36, of Bolton, was convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a child under 16 and sentenced to two years in prison.
Earlier Brandon Jacob Harwood, 25, of Queen Street, Bolton, was convicted of attempted rape and sexual activity and was jailed for 10 years. Ross Corley, of Station Road, Blackrod, who admitted two offences of sexual activity with that girl, was jailed for 28 months.
Harvie Aspden, 25, of Radcliffe, Bury who was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child was given a 15 month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work. They all have to sign on the Sex Offenders Register.