A man who has been dubbed ‘one of the most prolific child sexual predators ever seen in the North West’ has been sentenced to 14 years behind bars.
Stuart Latham, 22, from Wigan, was sentenced to 49 offences including rape, sexual activity with a child, blackmail, sexual communication with children, inciting children to engage in sexual activity, and the creation, possession and distribution of indecent images,.
These charges were against 41 victims between the ages of 11 and 15, spanning the whole of the UK.
A joint investigation by GMP and Lancashire Police tracked down all but eight of Latham’s total 48 victims – those who have been identified will be safeguarded from further harm long after his sentencing.
Officers first received a report that Latham had raped a 12-year-old-girl in Heysham in 2023, who he had met on the social media app Swiper. He had told her he was 15 years old.
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While on bail for the offences in Lancashire in April 2024, GMP received a referral made by US authorities via the National Crime Agency that a local man was having sexualised chat with children on Snapchat.
When officers arrived to his home address, Latham tried to hide his phone in the back of his wardrobe, but digital forensic experts were able to analyse the device and found that he had a history of ‘catfishing’ young girls on Snapchat, posing as a 14-year-old boy under the name ‘Josh’.
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He was sending mass messages up to 200 girls at a time, asking for help before requesting sexualised images and videos, sometimes offering cash and giftcards in return.
To keep his stream of images coming, he would blackmail his victims with threats to leak the images or tell their parents, and would also send explicit videos and images of himself.
He never paid any of the victims, and showed no remorse or accountability in any of his police interviews.
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Detective Constable Emma Murtagh, from GMP’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, and who led this case, said: “This is one of the most horrific cases I have ever had to investigate, not only due to the scale of the offending, but also due to the devastating impact and harm this this man’s behaviour and actions have had on these young girls and their families.
“We worked incredibly hard to identify as many victims as possible, listen to them, safeguard them and support them through this terrible ordeal. That has been our priority throughout and the victims living in very different locations has not been a barrier to this investigation.
“The impact has also been felt by all their parents and guardians, who understandably were very shocked and distressed to hear about what had been happening.
“This case demonstrates unfortunately the ease of which those looking to exploit children can target, manipulate and blackmail them online.
“We encourage anyone who may find them in a situation like these young people to come forward to police. We are steadfast in our pursuit of holding child predators to account and protecting children, and will act on any information we receive.”
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Detective Chief Inspector Dylan Hrynkow, of West Rape and Serious Sexual offences team said: “This investigation was complex with cross border offending, due to excellent joint working we have been able to secure charges and convictions for these horrendous offences.
“This crime has understandably had a profound impact on the victim, who has shown incredible strength and bravery over a significant amount of time, throughout proceedings. I can only hope that the knowledge of Latham’s significant sentence will bring some sense of closure in knowing he has been brought to justice.
“If you have been a victim of any sexual offending in Lancashire, I want you to know that we will listen to you, we will appropriately investigate, and we will do all we can to get you justice.”
Latham was jailed at Preston Crown Court on Friday 19 September.
You can find information about online safety and organisations which support victims and parents HERE.
Scissors, toy guns, and baseball bat among 100+ items confiscated by security at Manchester Airport
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has revealed a shocking list over 100 items confiscated by security staff in just one morning.
And honestly, you won’t believe some of the things people have tried to take on a plane.
With schools across Greater Manchester having now broken up for the summer holidays, and families getting ready to jet off on their holidays, Manchester Airport is urging all passengers travelling over the next six weeks to make sure they know the hand luggage rules before boarding the plane, after more than 100 items recently had to be confiscated by security in one morning alone.
12 pairs of scissors, 10 toy guns, seven corkscrews, four knives, two loose chisels, a pair of pliers, and even a baseball bat were among the items forming part of the shocking confiscation haul.
On top of this, security also confiscated dozens of cosmetic products, drinks bottles, and food items like multipacks of yoghurts.
Scissors, toy guns, and a baseball bat are among 100+ items confiscated by security at Manchester Airport / Credit: Manchester Airport
Although new 3D scanning technology has been installed at both of Manchester Airport’s terminals now, making the process smoother overall, those travelling during the busy summer period are reminded that attempting to bring non-compliant items through airport security causes delays for themselves and for others.
Airport security bosses are encouraging people to reacquaint themselves with the rules for hand luggage before packing for their journey.
“We’re proud of the role we play in getting people’s journeys off to the right start, and more than 97% of our passengers are getting through security checks in under 15 minutes,” commented Sakib Mahmood, who is the Security Duty Manager for T2 at Manchester Airport
All if these items were confiscated in just one morning / Credit: Manchester Airport
“But each time we have to pull a bag aside for a manual search it can take several minutes, and that can quickly start to add up and create delays.
“The range of items confiscated here in just a few hours shows what our security officers are up against every day, but when it comes to working out what is restricted and what is not, we know some items are more obvious than others.
“If you take a moment to reacquaint yourself with the rules before packing your hand luggage, it can save you lots of time when you get to Security, and avoids you losing items like water guns or bottles of suncream that you want to take on your holiday with you.
“In many cases, items like these which may fall foul of hand luggage restrictions can be taken in your hold luggage, so if in any doubt, pack the item in your suitcase rather than your carry-on bag.”
Featured Image – Manchester Airport
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Man jailed for life after ‘preparing for terrorism’ in relation to Manchester synagogue attack
Emily Sergeant
A man with links to the Manchester synagogue terrorist attacker has been jailed for life after pleading guilty to preparing for acts of terrorism.
The sentencing this week comes after Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW) launched a large-scale investigation to establish the full circumstances behind the attack.
In case you need a reminder, the shocking knife and car attack took place on 2 October 2025 on Yom Kippur – the holiest day in the Jewish calendar – at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue.
During the incident, two men sadly lost their lives during the attack – Adrian Daulby, 53, who was shot dead by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) while trying to stop the attacker from entering the synagogue, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, a worshipper who also helped stop the attacker.
A man with links to the Manchester synagogue terrorist attacker has been jailed for life / Credit: Google Maps | GMP
The attacker was named as 35-year-old Jihad al Shamie – a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent who lived in Prestwich – who at the time was on bail for an alleged rape, before being shot dead by police.
Following the terrorist attack, enquiries conducted by detectives identified Bashir as an associate of Jihad Al-Shamie, and established that the two of them had conducted ‘hostile reconnaissance of a UK defence facility’ on 14 August 2025.
The pair were seen on CCTV prior to the trip discussing criteria for potential targets to attack.
They were then seen on ANPR cameras making the journey to the site – with Bashir acting as the driver for most of the journey.
He was sentenced after pleading guilty to ‘hostile reconnaissance of a UK defence facility’ / Credit: GMP
Phones belonging to the attacker were reviewed by CTPNW and identified Bashir as a ‘close associate’ who also held extremist views, as during WhatsApp conversations between the pair, they discussed preparing for ‘war’ and frequently made antisemitic remarks.
Further enquiries established that both men had made a 10-hour round trip to conduct the aforementioned hostile reconnaissance of the UK Defence Academy in Shrivenham.
Bashir acted as driver for most of the journey and Al Shamie made notes regarding the security arrangements for the base on his phone.
Both men disposed of the phones they had used to conduct their research and make notes, however the investigation team successfully accessed cloud data for a number of mobile phones linked to Al Shamie – which revealed internet searches for weapons, potential target sites, and individuals with links to the Israeli military.
This, coupled with CCTV footage and audio showing them discussing plans for an attack, provided damning evidence against Bashir.
Bashir was therefore sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 16 years and 135 days.
“Bashir is now facing the consequences of his actions and I hope his sentence will act as a deterrent to anybody considering taking part in extremist activity,” concluded Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, who holds operational responsibility for Counter Terrorism Policing North West.
Daisy Jackson -
22nd September 2025 
