5 Live Investigates - Paedophile Case Delays

A dangerous paedophile was allowed to re-offend because of a backlog in police investigating digital evidence. 38-year old Andrew Williams, a research assistant at Sheffield University, targeted a 13 year old girl and groomed her online. He never met her - but the girl's mother reported her fears to Greater Manchester Police. But it took them 10 months to investigate the teenager's laptop and mobile phone - and when they finally did, they said they couldn't get the phone to work and dropped the case for lack of evidence. It was only when 5 live Investigates got involved that the investigation was re-opened. However, the delays meant he was free to befriend another under-age girl on the internet who he went on to groom and abuse.

Published on Sunday, 4th December 2016.

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