CCTV images have been released today relating to the sexual assault of a young girl in Oldham.
The victim described walking along the public footpath near Turner Street in Lees when she ‘smelt an unusual smell’.
She was then pushed out of the way by a man, who grabbed her and sexually assaulted her.
The incident occurred on Saturday 29 April, at around 4.30pm.
The man is described as white, with a slim build, around 19/20-years-old. He wore black joggers, black raincoat and black trainers. He had a hood that was covering his face, but the victim describes him as having hairy hands.
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After the attack, she ran to Turner Street and raised the alarm.
DI Victoria Wade of Oldham CID said: “We are hoping that by releasing images of the man we would like to speak to in relation to this offence, as we believe he could hold some key information, and the map of where the girl walked, it may jog the memories of people living in the area, or indeed those who were visiting the area at the time, as to where they were on Saturday at around 4.30pm.
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The footpath where the attack took place. Credit: GMP
“We are asking for anyone to come forwards who may be able to provide us with doorbell, dashcam or CCTV footage of the man in question, they may be able to help us locate him.
“This is a heinous crime and traumatised a young girl, who was only there to make Tik Toks with her friends. This should not be something that she now has to live with.
“We are asking if anyone can help us, to email [email protected] with any footage they may have or contact us on 0161 856 8967 / 8999, quoting log number 2413 of the 29/04/2023.”
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Previously, Oldham’s neighbourhood Sergeant Graham Craven said: “This is a very concerning attack on a young girl and I would like to assure the local community that a team of detectives are working at pace to locate the offender.
“Whilst specialist officers are supporting the victim, we are continuing to follow up a number of lines of enquiry.
“You will see our officers out and about on foot conducting highly visible patrols over the next couple of days, making enquires and offering reassurance to the community as we move forward with this investigation.
“We also want people in the local area to remain vigilant and to report anything they feel is suspicious to us immediately as we will act on any further information we get.”
“If anyone has any information that may help with the investigation, they are asked to call 101 quoting log 2413 of the 29/4/2023.”
The Oldham Man and The Sea: the documentary about the Latics owner’s record-breaking Atlantic voyage
Danny Jones
It doesn’t matter if you’re not an Athletic fan or native to the borough; we think everyone should go along to watch the much-anticipated documentary about football club owner Frank Rothwell and his record-breaking journey across the Atlantic Ocean: The Oldham Man And The Sea.
One of the simplest and most satisfying names for a film we’ve heard in a long time.
For anyone who doesn’t know about the Oldham Athletic FC chairman turned OBE’s incredible story, Frank Rothwell has set multiple records with his impressive sea-faring feats in recent times.
This new doc, which just premiered at this year’s Manchester Film Festival, charts his latest trip across one of the biggest bodies of water on the planet in March 2024.
As you can see from the recent trailer, it’s almost as arduous a tale as the original Hemingway story.
This movie – produced by Journeyman Pictures and Chief Productions – made its full debut at the Odeon in Great Northern Warehouse for MFF 2026, and is set to have a number of other screenings in and around Greater Manchester in the coming weeks and months.
One of those is happening rather soon, in fact, over at Saddleworth’s Millgate Arts Centre on Saturday, 28 March, which is ideal for those local to the region; grab your tickets now.
ln fact, there’s also one happening even closer to his hometown the following month, with Oldham’s very own Queen Elizabeth Hall also hosting a special screening of Rothwell’s incredible achievement.
You can reserve your seats for that one right HERE.
Having not only become the eldest (70) Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge finisher back in 2021, but now holding the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to ever complete the crossing while rowing solo at 73 years old, he’s become nothing short of a local hero – and that’s just his stewardship of the Latics…
The film does, obviously, touch on his time at the helm of the League Two side, who finally returned to the EFL last June, but the heart and soul of this inspiring watch is the sail itself.
More importantly, it also documents not just the gruelling nature of the 64-day, seven-hour and 53-minute trek, but also how Frank has now helped raise more than £1.4 million on behalf of Alzheimer’s Research UK.
What an absolute icon.
Hopefully, this should be just about all the reason you need to watch The Oldham Man And The Sea the very next opportunity you get to do so – and, of course, all proceeds from ticket sales will also be going to charity, because just the kind of bloke he is.
And here’s hoping we get a streaming version sometime soon.
Oldham man jailed for ‘non-contact’ child sex offences after pretending to be 15-year-old boy online
Emily Sergeant
A man from Oldham has been sentenced to time behind bars for what police have described as ‘non-contact’ child sex offences.
Ryan Greenhow appeared at Manchester Crown Square Court yesterday (Tuesday 24 February 2026) to be sentenced, after he pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to 22 counts of non-contact child sex offences – including child sexual exploitation, sharing images or film to cause alarm, causing or inciting a child aged under 16 to engage in sexual activity, and malicious communications.
The offences occurred between November 2024 and March 2025, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed.
It involved Greenhow contacting six victims via different social media platforms including WhatsApp, TikTok, and Snapchat.
The 37-year-old then blackmailed the victims into sending him indecent images.
Pretending to be a teenage boy, he would send the victims – who police say were aged between 12-15 years old at the time – an indecent image, making claims that the image depicted them when it was actually a picture of a naked woman obtained from the internet, and the proceeded to threaten to send the image to their friends and family if the victims did not do exactly as he said.
This led to Greenhow making demands for indecent images from victims across the country, in areas like Greater Manchester and Lancashire, and even further afield in Buckinghamshire.
He would go on to send numerous text messages threatening his victims, including saying: “This is your last chance, everyone will know this is you” and “I have seen your nudes, add me”. On some occasions, police say the victims would respond that she did not know what they were talking about, but kept receiving messages telling them that it was their “last chance”.
Some of the victims did send Greenhow images, and reported his activity to their parents, carers, and school teachers.
At his sentencing this week, Greenhow was jailed for seven years and four months, and will also be made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Speaking following Greenhow’s sentencing, Detective Constable Adair, of GMP’s City of Manchester Division, said: “Greenhow used several different social media platforms pretending to be a 15-year-old boy and followed the same method with each of his victims – sending them random images obtained from the internet, falsely attributing them to the victim, then threatening to share the image with the victim’s friends and family in exchange for an indecent image of the victim.
“Once our investigation was underway, detailed phone analysis led to us identifying further victims. Officers worked to safeguard these victims from any further harm.
“This sentencing is part of our wider work to tackle child sexual exploitation and we’re committed to protecting victims and bringing offenders to justice.”
Daisy Jackson -
5th May 2023 
