A man has been sentenced after a care home resident in Oldham was sexually assaulted in the early hours of the morning on New Year’s Day.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) received reports of a man carrying a knife at a care home in Oldham at around 1:45am on Sunday 1 January 2023, and when officers attended the scene and searched the premises, they found a young male inside – all before establishing that an 79-year-old woman had been sexually assaulted.
The intruder was immediately arrested at the scene.
The elderly victim was then taken to Saint Marys Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) for tests, where she, along with her family, received “immediate support and treatment from specialist officers and support services”, according to GMP.
After extensive CCTV analysis, and forensic analysis of the victim’s and suspects body and clothing, police were able to identify the suspect’s DNA was a match with previously logged DNA on a database.
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Man who attempted to rape an elderly woman inside an Oldham care home jailed / Credit: GMP
It was later confirmed that 22-year-old Jake Astley, of no fixed address, had been charged with one count of knowingly trespassing on a premises with intent to commit a sexual offence, one count of committing an offence with the intention of committing a sexual offence, one count of affray, and one count of assault.
Following being charged, Astley was then remanded to await trial – with an additional charge of attempted rape also being added to his indictment.
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He pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted rape and assault.
And finally yesterday (31 July), GMP confirmed that Astley was sentenced to 14 years (less 25% credit for plea) equating to 10 ½ years for rape, and serving an 18 month concurrent sentence for assault.
#JAILED | Today, Jake Astley (02/03/2001) of no fixed abode was sentenced to 10 ½ years for the attempt rape and assault of an elderly woman at a care home in #Oldham on New Year's Day.
This was after extensive CCTV and forensic analysis by officers.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) July 31, 2023
DC Sharon Harper, of GMP’s Oldham District, said has continued to assure members of the public that incidents of this horrific and distressing nature are “extremely rare”, but the sentencing demonstrates “the seriousness with which Greater Manchester Police deal with report of sexual assaults”.
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Speaking after the sentencing trial, DC Harper continued: “Astley was able to gain access to the premises, and arrogantly and knowingly walk through the care home to commit crime where vulnerable adults resided whilst he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
“He not only put the care home’s residents and staff through danger by threatening them with a knife and chasing them through their place of work or their home with a knife, but he then committed further atrocious crimes to a vulnerable elderly woman.
“He knowingly entered the victim’s bedroom, preyed upon her vulnerabilities, and began to assault and sexually assault her. His crimes are horrific and his lack of remorse for the victim and her welfare is despicable.
“Astley is a dangerous individual who fully deserves the sentence imposed on him.
Have you or do you know someone who has been a victim of rape or sexual assault?
GMP encourages victims not to suffer in silence and report it to the police by either calling 101 or 999 in an emergency, reporting information and crimes online using the ‘report’ tool, or alternatively reporting anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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There’s also lots of organisations and agencies available across Greater Manchester that can help and provide support.
A local Manchester run club is holding two special running routes to see the total eclipse
Danny Jones
With the highly anticipated total eclipse fast approaching, people not just here in Greater Manchester but all over the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are gearing up to try and watch it – but this native running club are doing it a bit differently.
Eclipses occur once every 12-18 months, but this is set to be the biggest since 1999.
The moon is set to cover approximately 96-98% of the sun this coming Wednesday, 12 August, 2026, and rather than try to watch it from a window at home or drive to somewhere with supposedly ‘the best view’, local sports club Manchester Road Runners are turning it into their latest one-off event.
Sharing details online, the free-to-join local organisation, which boasts thousands of members on Facebook and various other platforms, will be timing things to make sure they catch the phenomenon.
Writing in the accompanying caption, the Road Runners say: “We’ve pulled some strings and have a very special event taking place on August 12th, a solar eclipse! Come run with us under a darkened sun next Wednesday from The Wharf at 18:30, with peak moon coverage expected at around 19:10.”
Better still, they’re also teaming up with their trail running spin-off club for an even more scenic twist on the evening excursion.
“If you prefer to experience your solar phenomena under the wide open skies”, they go on to write, “our friends over at Trail Division will be holding a hike/run off road, meet at Piccadilly Station at 18:00 to get shady in the great outdoors.”
Fortunately, they have issued an important disclaimer, going on to remind runners that “while beautiful and majestic, the sun should NEVER be directly looked at in the face unprotected”, signing off by adding, “Respect the sun, respect your peepers, stay ocularly safe out there.”
If you’ve never come across MRR before, they’re probably the biggest run club in the entire Greater Manchester region and their social-first jogs, intervals, track sessions and more revolve around meeting back up with your mates for a wholesome pint and a chat.
For many, it’s the biggest and the best in the city.
As for the eclipse run, it’s set to be a very magical variation on their usual Wednesday evening meets.
Quite rightly, they also point out in the post that you can actually buy certain glasses to view eclipses on these rare occasions, with search traffic often ramping up in and around these events.
Meanwhile, the Trail Division branch is yet to confirm the route for their run/hike, but it will most likely remain in the nearby North West vicinity; keep your eyes peeled on their social media pages (linked above) for more information and other upcoming trail events.
Speaking of trail runs, there’s a pretty beautiful albeit challenging one coming up next month…
Stunning vistas, walkers welcome, and multiple distances available.🏃♂️🥾
And the best part? It's less than 90 minutes away from Manchester. 🏞️
Oasis promoters drop biggest Knebworth hint yet after securing license around key date
Danny Jones
Not that we’re the type to get carried away, but we’ll confess that our curiosity, interest and general levels of anticipation have been piqued, as Oasis’ main promoters have recently renewed the license to host events at the infamous Knebworth.
My word, is this it? Like the reunion, is it ACTUALLY going to happen?…
We’re sure the raw, uncontrollable excitement will come should it be fully confirmed, but for now, all we know is that our colleagues in music media, SJM Concerts, have renewed the land in and around Knebworth Park and House for live entertainment once again.
Moreover, the company have also done so on a rather fitting date decades on from the original and legendary outdoor gigs.
As can be found on the planning application section of the North Hertfordshire Council website – the county in which the storied Britpop gigs took place – a fresh license to hold new events.
If/when the announcement happens, the already granted permission will allow for a capacity of up to 125,000 and a curfew of 3am.
We know the original Knebworth shows were beyond iconic, but let’s say this would be nailed on to be nothing short of absolutely box office.
Besides having also helped promote Oasis’ colossal Live ’25 reunion tour last summer, it’s also worth noting that they secured said license just over a week before the 30th anniversary of the pair of nights back in 1996: 10-11 August, to be specific.
The licence is said to have come into effect this past Saturday (1 Aug) and is believed to be indefinite.
What added even more fuel to the fire of these well-established rumours over the past year was when Baroness Sharon Taylor of Stevenage told the House of Lords the band would be playing FIVE whole nights at Knebworth in the future, before later clarifying that she was speaking in “hypothetical terms.”
All that being said, it’s fair to say we’ll be keeping a very keen eye on socials over the next few days, in particular, just in case.
The Manc has reached out to SJM for an official comment (surprise, surprise), but we are yet to receive a response regarding the matter.
Your silence speaks volumes, just saying.
This coming Monday, 10 August 2026, will mark the official 30th anniversary of Oasis at Knebworth 1996, and with the likes of ‘Wonderwall’ seeing a chart resurgence as the go-to England anthem at this year’s World Cup, we’re choosing to be optimistic. What about you?
Emily Sergeant -
1st August 2023 
