Maghull Man Jailed For Abusing Children

Police have praised parents and teachers for raising the alarm after discovering children had been sexually abused by an older man. Michael Roach, aged 62 years, of Brookside has been jailed for a total of 17-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to 21 sexual offences against five children aged between four and 11 years. He pleaded guilty to: Two counts of rape of a female under 16, 17 indecent assaults on children under 16, two counts of sexual assault of a female under 13 He has also been made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order indefinitely. The incidents took place over a 25-year period from 1986 to 2011. Roach was sentenced after Detectives who were already investigating several cases reported to Merseyside Police in May this year, identified further victims who came forward. Speaking after the sentencing of Roach at Liverpool Crown Court, Detective Inspector Jimmy Belmar said parent intervention had prevented more children from being further victimised. He said: "Thankfully in some cases, parents recognised the warning signs and called the police when they realised something serious had happened. Michael Roach is a determined sexual predator who pursued girls as young as four, abusing his position of trust for his own sexual gratification. "Child Sexual Exploitation ('CSE') is a terrible crime which can affect any family, anywhere. We are, however, determined to play our part in tackling the problem. We have helped to launch 'Listen To My Story', a campaign and website which is there to raise awareness of CSE among young people, parents, grandparents, in fact every single one of us. "It helps victims find the right kind of support and advice if they have suffered abuse in the past. It also has loads of information for young people to help them if they think they are being exploited, or if they are worried one of their friends may be. "Every one of us has to play our part in putting a stop to the sexual exploitation of children and we all need to know the signs to look for, including if they are regularly missing school, appearing with unexplained gifts, having mood swings or becoming secretive about their use of social media."