Corby paedophile who arranged to meet and rape 11-year-old girl jailed

A '˜predatory' paedophile arranged to meet and rape a young girl just two days after being released under investigation for indecent images offences.
Richard Cheatley.Richard Cheatley.
Richard Cheatley.

Richard Cheatley, 34, of Viking Way, was first arrested in June this year when officers carried out a warrant at his address, acting on intelligence received.

He was found to be in possession of indecent images of children, including category A images, deemed the most severe.

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He was released pending further investigation but just two days later he was online again, this time arranging to meet an 11-year-old child with the intention of raping her.

On July 8, Cheatley travelled to Leicestershire with the clear intention of meeting a child in order to sexually abuse her.

He was intercepted by specially trained officers and arrested for arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and was remanded into custody.

Further investigation led to the discovery of further indecent images of children on Cheatley’s devices.

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At Northampton Crown Court, Cheatley was jailed for four years and two months for arranging the commission of a child sex offence.

He was also sentenced to six months for the category A images, four months for possessing category B images and two months for possessing category C images, all to be served concurrently.

He was also placed on the Sex Offender Register for life.

PC Chris Barker-Bowles, who led the investigation, said: “Cheatley is a dangerous and predatory paedophile who clearly intended to rape an 11-year-old child.

“I am very pleased this despicable man is now behind bars.

“Child safeguarding is a priority for Northamptonshire Police.

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“We work tirelessly to pursue offenders, bring them to justice and protect children from harm.

“Anybody with any concerns about the safety of a child or with information about people viewing and sharing indecent images of children to report it immediately by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.”