Burnley man jailed for kidnapping and raping teenage girl

BURNLEY MAN JAILED FOR KIDNAPPING AND RAPING TEENAGE GIRL

A 27-year-old man named Gerome Kendall has received a 15-year prison sentence after being convicted of kidnapping and raping a minor.

Currently detained at HMP Altcourse, Kendall persuaded a teenage girl to get into his vehicle on Saturday, July 4, 2020.

He then drove her to a secluded area between Marton and Monks Heath near Macclesfield, where he assaulted her twice.

Additionally, he sexually assaulted her at a petrol station in Wythenshawe and later at a residence in Burnley.

Before the assaults, he threatened her and instructed her to switch her phone to ghost mode, delete her social media accounts, and use a false name, telling her to claim she was 18 if questioned.

After crashing the car into a bush in Wythenshawe and being assisted by someone to whom he sought help, Kendall was driven back to Macclesfield in the damaged vehicle.

Police arrested him around 11 pm on July 4 following a chase that involved collisions with an unmarked police car and another vehicle.

At the time, Kendall had consumed alcohol, with blood alcohol levels nearly twice the legal limit.

His charges included two counts of raping a girl aged between 13 and 15, two counts of sexual assault, and one count of kidnapping.

He admitted to the driving offences but denied the sexual assault and kidnapping allegations.

After a four-day trial at Chester Crown Court, he was convicted and sentenced on May 13, with a lifelong sex offender registration requirement and a sexual harm prevention order.

He is not eligible for parole for at least ten years.