Predatory paedophile jailed 13 years for sexually exploiting young girls in Manchester

A man who used drugs, coercion and violence to exploit two teen girls in Manchester 20 years ago, has been jailed. 

Christopher Oates, 45, was prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following an investigation by Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

He has been sentenced today (26 June 2025) to 13 years and one month imprisonment at Manchester Crown Square Crown Court. 

Between May 2004 and February 2005, during the offending period, the two victims were aged just 14 and 17. They were both vulnerable and deliberately targeted by the defendant. They knew the defendant as ‘Nails’. The reason for this nickname was because he had a long, little fingernail, which he used to scoop cocaine with. 

Oates supplied the victims with alcohol and drugs to coerce them to work in the sex trade for his own gain. 

The younger victim was homeless and living in care homes at the time. When they met, the victim said Oates was kind to her, complimented her, told her he loved her and gave her money to buy gifts for herself. He manipulated her into thinking they were in a relationship, even though she was just a child and he was an adult.   

After gaining her trust, Oates quickly coerced her to become a sex worker in the red-light district in Manchester and acted as her pimp. She had to hand over any money she earned to Oates. 

When she told Oates she did not want to do sex work, he dragged her down an alleyway, punched her, put a gun to her head and threatened her, saying: “You do as I say, you’re mine now.”

The other victim was also coerced into prostitution by Oates, who would supply her with alcohol and cocaine before her ‘shifts’. He tried to push her to do harder drugs, such as crack cocaine and heroin, but she refused.  

On the fourth day of the trial, when presented with the large amount of evidence compiled by the prosecution, Oates, formerly of Salford, changed his plea to guilty to causing child prostitution, causing prostitution for gain, and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, he also asked for an offence of sexual activity with a child to be taken into consideration.

Oates’ total sentence also takes into account a separate case involving offences committed in 2023 of making and taking indecent images of children, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, drug offences and possessing false documents with improper intent. 

Lucy Dowdall, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS’ Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, said: “Christopher Oates targeted vulnerable girls he knew he could use and take advantage of for his own financial gain. 

“After grooming them and gaining their trust, Oates treated the victims like property and subjected them to appalling abuse and violence, making them too afraid to come forward for many years. I would like to thank them both for coming forward and speaking out about what they went through. The strength of their evidence meant that we were able to build a compelling case, leaving Oates with no choice but to plead guilty during his trial. 

“The Crown Prosecution Service remains dedicated to pursuing justice for victims of child sexual abuse and will continue to work tirelessly with law enforcement partners to hold violent sex offenders like Oates accountable - no matter how much time has passed since they committed their crimes.”  

To deal with some of the more complex and challenging child sexual abuse cases like this, the CPS has established a dedicated Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit to share specialist understanding, build strong cases and increase the amount of successful prosecutions.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Eleanor Humphreys, from Greater Manchester Police's CSE Major Investigations Team, said: “I would like to commend the two women at the centre of this case for the strength they demonstrated throughout our investigation and subsequent legal proceedings.

“It has been an arduous process for them to relieve the horrific abuse, and I am so grateful they placed their trust and confidence in our team to pursue justice.

“Their resilience and determination were the driving force behind reaching today’s outcome, where a dangerous man begins serving a lengthy sentence behind bars, far away from causing any more harm or misery.

“Despite Oates’s cowardly attempts to evade facing justice, the evidence we uncovered was overwhelming, and his crimes finally caught up with him. I hope this brings these survivors a sense of closure after all these years.

“Our investigation teams work tirelessly to piece together evidence, and we will not allow time or case complexities to be a barrier to justice in Greater Manchester.”