A paedophile who groomed, exploited, and coerced two teenage girls into sex work in the early 2000s has been jailed for 13 years in Manchester today
Christopher Oates aged 45 of Tannock Road, Stockport 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, you’re 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 I’ve 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 can’t begin to put into words. And the impact of this?
“Even now I struggle to trust my own judgements 20 years later; I can’t make simple decisions without feeling wrong, overwhelmed, and panicked. I still don’t 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 police 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.”
