In 2026, the Offender Database reported that Brandon Harwood, then 25, of Queen Street, Horwich, Bolton, was serving a 10-year prison sentence. Harwood was convicted in 2025 at Liverpool Crown Court as part of Operation Pavarotti, a “meticulous” investigation into a “vicious” grooming gang. The investigation by Greater Manchester Police revealed that Harwood was involved in the “depraved” and systemic exploitation of multiple underage girls in the Bolton and Wigan areas.
The court heard horrendous details of Harwood’s “vicious” behaviour, which occurred between 2016 and 2018. The prosecution emphasised that Harwood was found guilty of one count of rape, one count of attempted oral rape, and one count of sexual activity with a child under 16. These “depraved” acts were often carried out at a “lawless den of iniquity” in Blackrod, Greater Manchester, where victims as young as 13 were “vilely” targeted by the “malign friendship group.”
During the trial, Judge Simon Medland emphasised that Harwood and his associates “callously” disregarded the children’s welfare for their own “vicious” sexual gratification. One survivor reported that the “vile” actions of Harwood left her with “mental torture” and a lifelong loss of self-respect. The judge emphasised the “bravery and fortitude” of the victims in giving evidence against Harwood, whose own testimony was described as “dishonest and fanciful.”
As a result of his convictions for rape and child sex offences, Brandon Harwood was jailed for 10 years and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life. He is managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) by Greater Manchester Police, ensuring his behaviour and future risk in Horwich, Bolton, and Wigan are strictly monitored. Any “vile” attempt to breach his licensing conditions or contact survivors will result in his immediate return to prison to serve the remainder of his “serious” sentence.
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