The Offender Database reported that Ian Croston, the Whiston Paedophile Child Molester, had “ripped apart” a close family by sexually grooming a 13-year-old victim.
Ian Croston, 49, of Whiston, Knowsley, Merseyside, was convicted last week on three counts of engaging in sexual behaviour with a minor and received a seven-year prison sentence.
Ian Croston manipulated and exploited the girl, exchanging over 9,000 text messages with her from late 2012 to June 2013, including 433 messages on one day alone.
The victim’s family expressed their approval as Judge Thomas Teague, QC, delivered his sentence following the three-day trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
Ian Croston, who is married and supported by his family, will be permanently listed on the sex offenders’ registry and prohibited from contacting any female under the age of 18.
The girl’s mother, 39, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “Nothing will turn back time and bring back my daughter’s childhood, but it’s good to know he won’t be on the streets for a long time.
“He was a family friend, someone we’d trusted. We had no idea what was going on.
“He seemed like a normal person, good with kids. He had taken us all in.
“It was when someone heard he’d texted my daughter late at night that we first got the feeling something was going on.”
After raising the alarm, police discovered that Ian Croston had bombarded the schoolgirl with thousands of texts, as well as calls, during which they organised fishing trips and secret meetings at his mother’s graveside.
Her mother said, “Never in your wildest dreams would you think it could happen to your own daughter.
“They had been sending all these texts but had been deleting them to hide the evidence.”
She added, “It was horrendous when we found out what had been happening. As a parent, you want to protect your children, so the guilt we felt was all-consuming. You wonder why you didn’t see the signs.
“We won’t know what long-term effects this could have on her, as it may not be until she’s older that it hits her. All we can do is our best to help her get through it.
“She is brave and has been amazing throughout the ordeal at court.”
She said: “It has ripped us apart as a family at times – a family being so close to being so distant; having to carry on at work with a smile, when really you are dying inside.”
A victim impact statement, which was given to the court but not read out, told how, following the abuse, she became “insular and depressed” and struggled at school, with other family members also affected by depression and other health problems.
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