- Nicholas Hatton, 34, from Crewe, forced his victim to abuse a two-year-old boy.
- The teenager confessed to rape and sexual assault and was sentenced to 50 years in prison
- Hatton received an 18-year sentence for his role in enticing his victim.
An online predator who pressured a boy 4,500 miles away into raping a little girl has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, while the teenager he groomed will serve a 50-year sentence in the United States.
Twisted Nicholas Hatton, who had a wealth of child abuse images, preyed on the boy from the age of 12, Chester Crown Court heard.
The teenager, who had been in contact with Hatton for several years since 2014, told officers he had been forced to sexually abuse the two-year-old family member on camera.
As a result of his confession, the boy has been convicted of rape and sexual assault in the United States and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Meanwhile, Hatton, 34, of West Street, Crewe, received an 18-year prison sentence in the UK.
Nicholas Hatton, 34, from Crewe, was sentenced to 18 years for his role in grooming a boy and forcing him to rape a young female relative in America.
The court heard the boy was one of Hatton’s four victims. Detectives were able to identify two of them, both based in the United States.
The investigation into Hatton initially began in 2021 when Cheshire Police officers received intelligence from a social media company in relation to his online activity.
A search was carried out at Hatton’s home in Crewe, where a number of electronic devices were seized and sent for analysis.
During the examination of the devices, officers recovered more than 12,000 indecent images of children and 750 indecent videos, as well as 1,050 prohibited images.
Following the discovery, Hatton was arrested again in June 2022.
During interrogation he denied having any knowledge of who the children in the images were.
He was later released on conditional bail. It was at that time that a Cheshire Police victim identification officer identified the two US-based victims.
Hatton was subsequently charged and subsequently pleaded guilty to all offences.
He was charged with six counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity; two counts of causing or inciting sexual exploitation of a child aged 13 to 17 and one count of possession of indecent images of children.
Chester Crown Court heard the victim, who had been in contact with Hatton for several years since 2014, tell officers he had been forced to sexually abuse the two-year-old family member on camera.
Hatton also pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing prohibited images of children.
Following his sentencing, Detective Constable Faye Taylor, of Cheshire Police’s online child abuse investigation team, said: “This has been a long and complex investigation which finally uncovered Hatton’s despicable behaviour.”
‘Throughout the investigation it became clear that Hatton is a sexual predator who preyed on vulnerable young children and had no regard for the effects his actions would have on the victims or their families.
‘Due to bullying he suffered as a child, one of Hatton’s victims in the United States received a long prison sentence, while his relative suffered sustained sexual abuse.
‘While none of the victims will ever forget what happened to them, I hope that Hatton’s conviction and the sentence imposed on him will provide them with some closure.
“I also hope that Hatton’s conviction serves as a reminder that there are no boundaries when it comes to sexual abuse, that it can happen anywhere and at any time and that the impact can be life-changing.”
In addition to his prison sentence, Hatton was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life and given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.