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An online predator who pressured a boy 4,500 miles away into raping a young relative has been jailed for 18 years – while his victim has been sent down for half a century in the U.S. Twisted Nicholas Hatton, who had a huge stash of child abuse images, groomed the boy from the age of 12.
Chester Crown Court heard the victim – who had been in contact with Hatton for several years from 2014 – told officers that he had been coerced into sexually abusing the two-year-old family member on camera.
As a result of his confession, the teenager has since been convicted of rape and sexual assault in America and sentenced to 50 years in prison. Meanwhile, Hatton, 34, of West Street, Crewe, was handed an 18-year jail term in the UK.
The court heard the boy was one of Hatton’s four victims. Detectives were able to identify two of them who were both based in America.
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The investigation into Hatton initially began in 2021 when officers from Cheshire Police received intelligence from a social media company in relation to his online activity. A warrant was carried out at Hatton’s home in Crewe where a number electronic devices were seized and sent for analysis.
During examination of the devices officers recovered over 12,000 indecent images of children, more than 750 indecent videos and 1,050 prohibited images.
Following the discovery, Hatton was rearrested in June 2022. During questioning he denied all knowledge of who the children in the images were. He was then released on conditional bail. It was at this point that a Cheshire Police Victim Identification Officer identified the two U.S.-based victims.
Hatton was subsequently charged and later pleaded guilty to all of the offences. The defendant admitted:
- Six counts of causing/inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity
- Two counts of causing/inciting the sexual exploitation of a child aged 13-17
- One count of possession of indecent images of children
- Three counts of making indecent images of children (A, B, and C where A is the most serious)
- Three counts of taking indecent images of children (A, B, C)
- One count of possession of prohibited images of children
Following his sentencing, Detective Constable Faye Taylor, of the Online Child Abuse Investigation Team at Cheshire Police, said: “This has been a complex and lengthy investigation which ultimately uncovered Hatton’s despicable behaviour.
“It was apparent throughout the investigation that Hatton is a sexual predator who preyed on vulnerable young boys and had no regard for the effects his actions would have on the victims or their families.
“Due to the grooming that he suffered as a child, one of Hatton’s victim in America has been handed a lengthy prison sentence, while his family member suffered sustained sexual abuse.
“While none of the victims will ever be able to forget what happened to them, I hope that Hatton’s conviction and the sentence handed to him will provide them with some closure. I also hope that Hatton’s conviction will act as a reminder that there are no borders when it comes to sexual abuse, it can happen anywhere at any time and the impact can be lifechanging.”
In addition to his prison sentence Hatton was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life and handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
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