Girl, 13, found in Leeds paedophile's bed after being reported missing to police
A girl was found hiding in a paedophile’s bed in Leeds after she was reported missing to the police.
Alan Knowles was given a nine-year extended jail sentence after he admitted a string of offences against the girl, including taking sexual pictures of her.
Leeds Crown Court heard that the girl had “complex needs”.
She had confessed to a friend about having a “secret” Snapchat account with Knowles and they had agreed to meet in a park in March 2023.
They then caught a bus to his home on Broadlea Terrace , Bramley.
Knowles, 45, was arrested and denied wrongdoing. He gave a prepared statement but refused to answer any police questions thereafter.
His mobile phone was seized and it showed regular contact between Knowles and the girl.
It also contained more than 250 indecent images of the youngster. Of them, seven were regarded as Class A - the most serious kind - with 26 Category B and 230 Category C. Some were screenshots he had taken during Facetime sessions.
His semen was also found on her underwear. When confronted, he claimed he had “no idea how it got there”, then claimed the girl must have touched a cloth he had previously used.
In a victim impact statement, read out by prosecutor Philip Standfast, the girl said she was let “feeling dirty” and has nightmares about Knowles.
Knowles, who appeared in court via video link from HMP Hull, has 22 previous convictions for 43 offences, although none for sexual offending.
He admitted meeting a girl following grooming, attempting to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity with a child, engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a child, two counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a child, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and three counts of making indecent images.
Mitigating, Matthew Stewart said that Knowles had entered guilty pleas and had saved the girl from giving evidence in court.
He said Knowles had a difficult upbringing and that substance misuse was “clearly an issue” having “taken every drug say for heroin”.
Knowles had even smoked spice while behind bars, but said he was now drug-free.
Mr Stewart conceded: “Custody is clearly inevitable in this case.”
Judge Simon Batiste told Knowles: “This was a 13-year-old child with complex needs. It’s clear from her victim personal statement that this has had a significant impact on her and her family.
“You are assessed as being a risk to children.”
He jailed him for six years, with a three-year extended licence period.
He was given a 12-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and put on the sex offender register for life.