Kieran Ridgway, aged 29, of Curlew Close, Coalville, Leicestershire, was sentenced to nine years in prison with an additional three-year extended licence at Leicester Crown Court on Friday, 10 July 2026, after being found guilty of multiple child sexual exploitation offences.
The court heard that between June 2017 and February 2020, Ridgway utilized false aliases on social media platforms to systematically target and contact young female children under the age of 16. Ridgway engaged the children in conversation before offering to supply them with alcohol in exchange for engaging in sexual activity. He arranged physical meetings in car parks, carrying out sexual offences against three victims, one of whom was led to believe she was in an active relationship with him.
Law enforcement involvement began in July 2021 when the parents of two children contacted Leicestershire Police after learning their daughters had met an unknown man in a car park. Subsequent investigations by force detectives identified three additional victims who had been subjected to sexual abuse by Ridgway.
Officers arrested Ridgway in October 2021. During police interviews, Ridgway sought to evade responsibility by asserting that an unidentified third party had created a fraudulent social media account using his personal details. He further claimed that he had provided alcohol to the children out of kindness without requesting sexual acts.
Following a crown court trial in May 2026, a jury rejected his defense and found Ridgway guilty of five counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child, non-penetrative sexual activity with a child, sexual communication with a child, meeting a child following grooming, and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Detective Constable Stacey Swan commended the victims for their courage in coming forward and supporting the complex investigation through to prosecution.
In July 2026, the presiding judge sentenced Ridgway to nine years’ imprisonment with a three-year extended licence upon release. The court also made Ridgway the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered his indefinite placement on the Sex Offenders Register.
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