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A 'monstrous' predator who goaded a teenage girl into self harm is amongst those who have been locked up this week. Karl Davies had sexually abused the girl over a number of meetings before providing her with a razor and asking for photos of the act. He was locked up for 20 years. Also behind bars this week is a drugs boss who built a huge property empire and lived a life of luxury in Cheshire off his dealing, and an online stalker who aged a 'breathtaking' campaign of cyberstalking against a motivational speaker after meeting him for just two minutes. Prison terms are handed out to the worst offenders. And Manchester Evening News court reporters are on hand to cover the most serious cases. Here is a round up of the cases heard before our region's courts this week: A predator with a 'monstrous sense of sexual entitlement' has been jailed for 20 years for a string of sexual offences against a vulnerable teenage girl. Karl Davies travelled from his home in Birkenhead, Merseyside, to meet his victim in Stockport a total of four times in the summer of 2024, Manchester Crown Court heard today (October 20) The 42-year-old sexually abused her during these meetings and on one occasion encouraged her to self-harm, providing her with a razor blade and asking for photos of the act. Encouraging someone to self-harm is a relatively new offence introduced in the 2023 Online Safety Act, and Davies' conviction is thought to be the first in the UK where an adult has done so to a child. But he had been in contact with his victim, whose anonymity is protected under law, long before these meetings, using a total of six concocted Snapchat aliases to exploit and manipulate her over the course of a year. Davies was sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison, with an extra five years to be served on licence. He is expected to serve a minimum of 13 years before becoming eligible for parole. Read the full story here: The 'depraved, sadistic' man who targeted child for sex - and encouraged her to self-harm The head of one of the country's biggest drug dealing gangs who built a huge property empire and lived a life of luxury in Cheshire has been jailed after his operation was brought down. Gregory Bell, 43, has been likened to a CEO due to his role at the top of the illicit organisation which 'operated like a business', dealing multiple kilos of cocaine, heroin, MDMA, amphetamines and cannabis on a daily basis. Bell 'managed logistics, authorised deals, and collected profits' but 'distanced himself from the physical handling of drugs' which, according to police, were distributed on an 'industrial scale.' He used a number of aliases on the encrypted Encrochat network, later smashed by police, as he dished out orders and managed a network of safe houses and couriers to co-ordinate deliveries 'with precision.' Bell, who others called ‘boss’ or ‘gaffer’, owned 34 properties across Manchester and two villas in Spain. He lived in a ‘prestigious rented apartment’ at Butley Hall, Scott Road in Prestbury, and sent his daughter to a private school. Manchester Crown Court heard that he paid her fees by handing over an envelope full of cash with the school’s receptionist. Prosecutors told how gambling addict Bell had staked a total of almost £2.2 million in bets with Ladbrokes and Betfred. Bell, of Tameside , has now been jailed alongside two of his associates, including one who fled to Spain. Read the full story here: Drugs boss built up huge property empire and paid child's school fees with envelope of cash - before he was brought dow n A 'dangerous' predator who filmed himself sexually assaulting a girl in a shop in Manchester city centre has been jailed for a host of sick sex offences. Mobarak Almutairi, 19, followed three young girls into a shop on Market Street in February this year, where he inappropriately touched and sexually assaulted one of them. After this was reported to police, officers used CCTV footage to track him down, and he was arrested that same month. Officers seized his electronic devices and found footage of him attacking the girl, whose age has not been disclosed. They also discovered just under 4,000 indecent images of children, some of kids as young as eight years old, which police said were 'made predominantly by Almutairi' over a period of four years. They showed 'history of sexual abuse against children both within and outside of the UK' Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said. He was jailed for three years and eight months. Read the full story here: A pervert followed three girls into a shop on Market Street....and the full extent of his sickening crimes began to unravel A drug dealer who savagely attacked a man waiting for a taxi in Manchester has been jailed. Joshua Lee, 31, pleaded guilty to a series of drug offences involving crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis, and was convicted by a jury after trial of assault and affray in separate cases. Lee is now starting a six year prison sentence. Greater Manchester Police said Lee was convicted of assault and affray following a violent attack on a man waiting for a taxi on Cheetham Hill Road in November, 2022. Armed with a large knife, he threatened the victim and punched and kicked him. He sustained multiple injuries, including bruising and abrasions, GMP added. Read the full story here: Drug dealer armed with huge knife brutally attacked man waiting for taxi A social media consultant waged a 'breathtaking' campaign of cyberstalking, harassment and abuse against a motivational speaker after meeting him for just two minutes. Samantha Wall, 55, from Stockport , met the self-employer entrepreneur and author Brad Burton at an event at Aston Villa's Villa Park stadium in Birmingham in January 2019, attended by around 200 people. They made 'small talk' and she posed for a selfie with him in what a court heard was a brief and 'innocuous' encounter. Soon after she began a much-publicised 'barrage of online abuse' against him, which a judge said was 'of the most egregious kind' as he jailed her for two years and four months. Read the full story here: Woman who waged 'breathtaking' campaign of cyberstalking, harassment and abuse jailed
