'Depraved' paedophile from Stockport sentenced to 13 years in jail
A paedophile who subjected two teenage girls to 'a campaign of violence and sexual abuse' has been jailed for 13 years.
In the early 2000s, Christopher Oates (45) had groomed two teenage girls and coerced them into sex work.
He'd groomed one of the survivors since she was 14, plying her with drugs and gifts, and claiming he was her boyfriend. When the girl started to doubt his intentions, Oates dragged her down an alleyway, attacked her, and threatened her with a gun.
He'd also coerced a second victim into sex work, starting when she was just 17.
Oates would take the two victims to spots in Manchester, where he forced them to have sex with other men for money. In one instance, he organised for them to have sex in a room with a man while being recorded.
A police investigation into Oates first began in 2012, initially in relation to drug offences. His property was searched, and although Oates was not present, police seized his mobile device which was found to have 130 indecent images of children.
Oates fled to Bangkok three days later.
Later, in 2020, one of the victims and her friend went to the police in 2020 and bravely shared their experience of abuse.
Shortly after, officers investigating non-recent child sexual offences tried to speak with Oates, but he was found to be in the Dominican Republic.
It was in 2023 that Oates was arrested in Stockport. He was also found to be in possession of cannabis and false documents.
In a trial in March 2025, he pleaded guilty to: possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence; three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 – 15 years old; and two counts causing / inciting a child aged 13 – 17 years to prostitution.
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Eleanor Humphreys, from our CSE Major Investigations Team, said: "I would like to commend the two women at the centre of this case for the strength they demonstrated throughout our investigation and subsequent legal proceedings.
"It has been an arduous process for them to relieve the horrific abuse, and I am so grateful they placed their trust and confidence in our team to pursue justice.
"Their resilience and determination were the driving force behind reaching today's outcome, where a dangerous man begins serving a lengthy sentence behind bars, far away from causing any more harm or misery.
"Despite Oates' cowardly attempts to evade facing justice, the evidence we uncovered was overwhelming, and his crimes finally caught up with him. I hope this brings these survivors a sense of closure after all these years."
In a victim impact statement, one of the survivors said: "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."
The other survivor said directly to Oates: "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."
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