A six-year-old girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a twisted paedophile as she played with her friends.
Lewis Jones, 24, abducted and violently attacked the little girl as she made a den with her pals in a field in Tameside in August 2022, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The beast had been sitting nearby when he secretly snapped pictures of the children's bottoms, before he snatched the girl and held her captive.
He grabbed her and ran over to a wooded area, covering her mouth with his hand to stop her screaming for help.
Manchester Crown Court heard that during a 30 minute ordeal, Jones subjected the child to a horrific, violent sexual attack, leaving her covered in blood.
The depraved pervert only let her go after he heard her family screaming her name as they searched for her nearby.
His own father handed him into cops, after he saw pictures of his son released by Greater Manchester Police in a bid to catch the kidnapper.
Cops say residents now feel 'scared' of letting their children play out, and told how the terrifying incident has bred a feeling of 'fear and distrust' in the area.
Jones, who was already being investigated for the sexual abuse of another child before this incident, has been sentenced to life in prison.
He will now have to serve 12 years in prison before he can be considered for release.
"I am not satisfied that you feel much remorse or have much insight into the damage you have caused," Judge Hilary Manley told Jones, who showed no emotion as he learned of his punishment.
Prosecuting, Vanessa Thomson told how the girl had been playing out on a field with some other children when she was abducted.
They had noticed Jones chatting on his phone minutes before he struck.
One of the children felt 'uncomfortable' because Jones 'kept smiling at her'.
He had come over and asked if he could help them make the den.
It was discovered that he had been taking pictures of them, including some of the girl he would abduct, with the images focusing on their 'bottom', Ms Thomson said.
When the other children were distracted, Jones took the opportunity to abduct the child.
He warned her that if she made a sound she would not see her parents again.
Upon noticing that the girl was gone, an 11-year-old child immediately raised the alarm and the victim's family started to search the area.
Another child said they noticed a man carrying a child with blood on her t-shirt.
The man was telling her 'you're okay, you're okay'.
She assumed the girl must have been related to the man.
Later she saw the girl on a footpath alone screaming 'help me, I've been kidnapped'.
The child's grandfather found her and she was reunited with her family shortly afterwards.
"Her mum couldn't even give her a hug until her clothes had been formally recovered," Ms Thomson said.
The girl disclosed details of what her attacker had done to her.
She said he'd put his hand on her throat and sexually assaulted her.
Her top was covered in blood after Jones had put his fingers down her throat and knocked one of her teeth out. It was found that he'd also taken pictures of her during the attack.
That night she struggled to eat due to her throat injury, and suffered cuts and bruises to her face, legs and arms.
Jones' semen was found on her underwear but prosecutors said they were not able to prove forensically whether he had penetrated her with his penis.
He fled on foot and eventually arrived back at a hotel in where he'd been living with his father.
Within hours he shared graphic pictures with a former girlfriend.
In the aftermath, cops issued CCTV images of Jones in an effort to track him down.
His father saw them and took his son to the police station in Manchester.
At first he denied any wrongdoing but he later pleaded guilty to kidnap and two counts of assault by penetration.
"When I first heard about what happened I couldn't stop screaming," the victim's mother said in a statement read in court. "I couldn't believe that someone had taken my little girl and assaulted her in such a horrific way.
"I feel helpless because I wasn't there to protect her." She told how her daughter now has to sleep in bed with her and her husband to feel safe.
"I feel lucky that she is still with us, we could easily have lost her that day," she added. "I feel very angry that he (Jones) has done this to us."
PC Craig Hill, a neighbourhood officer who works in Droylsden, told how the incident has created 'fear and distrust' among the community. "They are now scared of letting their child out by themselves and are wary whenever they see strangers in the area," he said.
"They have a fear their children aren't safe, and are reluctant to allow them out by themselves." He said the kidnapping has had a negative impact in the area and has caused parents to be worried if their child arrives home late from school.
"People still approach me in the street to express their feelings regarding this matter, such has been the impact of this incident." Jones' barrister Brendan Carville said: "I can't explain why he has done these matters."
The court heard that Jones has no previous sexual offences on his record, but has convictions for common assault and harassment committed when he was a child, as well as criminal damage in 2018.
There were also instances of 'very troubling behaviour' when he was a juvenile, including drowning his pet cat.
Mr Carville said Jones' father is a 'user of crack cocaine and heroin' and his mother 'died of Covid'. Jones, previously of Brocklebank Lane, Liverpool, had moved to Manchester to stay with his father who had been rehomed in the city.
A psychiatric report was commissioned to examine Jones' mental health, but it was discovered there was 'no evidence of a major mental illness'.
At the time he kidnapped the child in Tameside, Jones was being investigated by Merseyside Police after he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl.
He lied to her about his age, telling her he was 14 when he was actually 21. Jones was interviewed by police in June 2020 but was released under investigation, and was not charged until October last year, after the kidnapping in Tameside.
After the hearing, Detective Superintendent Gareth Jenkins of GMP said: "Firstly, we would like to thank the young victim and her family, who have shown considerable strength and bravery when seeing this prosecution through until sentencing today. As a team and a force, we are extremely pleased with today’s result, which has seen Jones, an abhorrent individual, removed from the streets for a considerable length of time.
"My officers acted quickly, securing identification of Jones who was a stranger to Tameside. This was only achieved by securing evidence of his approach and exit to the scene and I am very grateful to them and the officer in the case who worked tirelessly and under significant pressure to get this to where we are today.
"People like this should not be free to roam our streets and put our young population at risk – something GMP are committed to. If you have any information regarding any such crimes, we encourage you to get in touch with us. You will be believed and we will help you.
"You can contact us 24 hours a day via 101 or through our Live Chat function on our website, www.gmp.police.uk. You can also pass information anonymously through the independent charity – Crimestoppers – on 0800 555 111."
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