A predatory paedophile may not have been free to kidnap and violently sexually assault a six-year-old girl if police had acted more quickly, a court heard.
Lewis Jones, 24, abducted the child while she played with friends on a field in Droylsden, Tameside. The victim was left bloodied and traumatised following the horrifying sexual attack, which was committed in broad daylight in August last year.
At the time Jones was already known to police in Merseyside, who had interviewed him in relation to the sexual abuse of a child committed in 2020.
He was interviewed twice by officers, in June 2020 and April 2021, but he was released under investigation and was therefore free to carry out the attack in Tameside.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk