Two men, who sexually abused six boys in Rochdale, jailed for 34 years
David Marsh, and Anthony Whitehead groomed and sexually abused the young boys, now all grown men, in the 1980s and 1990s
Last updated 27th Nov 2024
Two men have been jailed for grooming and sexually abusing six boys, now all grown men, in Rochdale and Manchester in the 1980s and 1990s.
Throughout the four-week trial, earlier this year, Manchester Crown Court heard the painful and difficult testimony from the six male survivors who, at the time the abuse started, were aged between just 9 and 13.
David Marsh (74) of Northenden, and Anthony Whitehead (72) of Atherton, were finally brought to justice for their appalling campaigns of offending as a jury unanimously found them guilty of all 35 sex offences on teenage boys.
The offending took place in Rochdale, Bolton and Manchester in the 1980s and 1990s.
It comes after a comprehensive five-year investigation by specialist detectives from GMP Rochdale’s Complex Safeguarding Team – one of 10 such dedicated teams across every town and city in Greater Manchester – and the Child Sexual Exploitation Major Investigation Team.
Detectives worked carefully to identify any victim-survivors and work with them at a pace they were comfortable with to gain their confidence and provide vital evidence about their abuse.
The investigation began in 2019 after GMP received a report that one of the survivors confided into a person in authority that he had been sexually abused by two men as a boy.
As enquiries commenced, GMP said they began to form a picture of a sustained campaign of offending by Marsh and Whitehead on boys in Rochdale which would involve exploiting their vulnerabilities, taking them to other parts of Manchester whilst grooming them with cigarettes, alcohol and money.
GMP approached a number of other potential male survivors who they were incredibly grateful to for providing the details of their experiences of abuse in our effort to pursue prosecutions with the Crown Prosecution Service.
Six men have been supported throughout by the Complex Safeguarding Team and the Child Sexual Exploitation Major Investigation Team – comprising of an expert unit of police, specialist detectives and local partners.
Anyone spoken to as part of the investigation has been referred for support at specialist partner agencies and charities, such as the specialist male survivor organisation in Greater Manchester, We Are Survivors and the St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre.
The trial was shown camcordings of of Marsh filming himself with young boys in Thailand. Footage seized as part of our investigation and shown in court as evidence of his liking of children. Footage not timestamped but believed to be from the time of his offending.
David Marsh (11/06/1950) is guilty of:
2\7 counts of indecent assault (between April 1987 – April 1994) – 13 of the counts reflect a number of occasions. All victims under 16.
Buggery (now referred to as rape) (between December 1987 – December 1990) – victim under 16.
Attempted buggery (now referred to as attempted rape) (between September 1990 – March 1992) – victim under 16.
Anthony Whitehead (07/04/1952) is guilty of:
Six counts of indecent assault (between March 1991 – March 1992) – victim under 16.
Detective Constable Andrea Richards, who has worked on this case from the start, said:
“I want to commend the male survivors who have played a crucial role in bringing these abhorrent abusers to long-awaited justice.
“It was incredibly brave of them to speak about their abuse in what was a difficult and painful process for them to have to go through.
“These depraved men are exactly where they should be, in jail, away from causing our communities and those within it any further harm.
“There may be others affected by Marsh and Whitehead’s separate campaigns of offending, and we would like to let all survivors of sexual abuse know that we are here to listen to them when they are ready, at a pace they feel comfortable with.
“There are also several agencies, that are not the police, who we work closely with to support survivors for those who would feel more comfortable taking this approach.
“We continue to be on an upward improvement journey in how we tackle CSE – whether it be the abuse of children yesterday or today.
“We hope that this conviction, and our continuously improving outcomes for victims, give survivors that we will ensure time is no barrier to justice.”