In 2019, the Offender Database confirmed that Colin Cooper, 67, formerly of Wythenshawe and Hattersley, Greater Manchester, was sentenced to a further eight years in prison at Manchester Crown Court. Cooper, previously known as Alan Makinson, was found guilty of a “sickening” series of non-recent sexual offences against a boy in the 1970s. The case came to light following a chance encounter in prison, where one of Cooper’s victims—now serving his own sentence for a sexual offence—recognised Cooper on a prison wing and reported the historical abuse to the authorities.
The court heard how Cooper systematically targeted vulnerable children aged five to twelve, enticing them with money and gifts before subjecting them to extreme physical and sexual abuse. Some victims were forced to perform sexual acts on other children for their gratification or subjected to “punishments” involving eating raw meat from pigs’ heads. Judge Timothy Smith described Cooper as a “compulsive, manipulative, and predatory paedophile” who had stolen the childhoods of over 18 known victims across four decades.
Cooper was already serving an 18-year sentence handed down in 2011 for 30 offences, including rape and sexual assault. His latest eight-year term for indecent assault and gross indecency with a child was ordered to run alongside his existing detention. The court noted that Cooper, who had changed his name in the 1980s to evade detection after a prior conviction, is in poor health and is likely to spend the remainder of his life behind bars.
As a prolific offender convicted of more than 50 sexual offences, Cooper is subject to the Sex Offenders Register for life. He is managed under MAPPA Level 3 by Greater Manchester Police, ensuring that should he ever be considered for release, he would be subject to the most stringent residency and notification requirements. His management includes a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) that legally prohibits him from any contact with minors or the use of unmonitored digital technology.
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