Peter Garns, aged 69, of no fixed abode, has been sentenced to 16 years and six months’ imprisonment at Bolton Crown Court after being convicted of a three-year campaign of sexual abuse against an 11-year-old child.
The offending occurred in the Stockport area across the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The court heard that Garns first encountered the victim when she was 11 years of age, initiating a systematic process of grooming designed to exploit her youth and vulnerability.
Garns manipulated the child into believing that they shared a genuine romantic relationship, repeatedly professing that he loved her while subjecting her to sexual assaults.
To facilitate and maintain contact, Garns supplied the young victim with cigarettes, purchased credit for her mobile phone, and sent frequent text messages.
The court heard evidence detailing multiple incidents of abuse, including an occasion where Garns subjected the girl to sexual assault while she remained dressed in her school uniform.
Decades after the offences were committed, the survivor disclosed the abuse as an adult, prompting Greater Manchester Police to launch a historic sexual offences investigation that resulted in Garns being located and charged.
Under UK legislation, victims of sexual offences are protected by lifelong statutory anonymity.
Following a contested Crown Court trial, Garns was convicted of eight offences:
Seven counts of indecent assault
One count of unlawful sexual intercourse
Appearing for sentencing on Monday, 21 September, the judge condemned the sustained manipulation of a young child and handed Garns an immediate custodial term of 16 years and six months (198 months).
Release Calculation: Under UK sentencing provisions applicable to determinate sentences of seven years or more for serious sexual offences, standard halfway release does not apply. Garns is required to serve two-thirds of his sentence—amounting to 11 years (132 months)—in prison custody before becoming eligible for release on licence, where he will remain subject to strict monitoring by the Probation Service for the remainder of the term.
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