JACK CORTEEN, THE SEXUAL PREDATOR FROM BURNLEY, SENTENCED FOR GROOMING UNDERAGE GIRLS IN HYNDBURN AND BURNLEY
In November 2017, Burnley Crown Court delivered a stern judgment against Jack Corteen, a 25-year-old man from Burnley, who was found guilty of targeting and grooming two underage girls for sexual activity.The court heard how Corteen, despite being aware of his own age, engaged in manipulative and predatory behavior towards his young victims, raising serious concerns about his dangerousness to minors in the community.
Prosecutor Emma Kehoe detailed how Corteen’s offending came to light through his interactions with his first victim, a girl from Hyndburn who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The case revealed that Corteen had lied about his age and persistently asked her to send explicit photographs.
The troubling pattern of his behavior was uncovered after he began sending her abusive messages when she started messaging boys her own age.
This led to his arrest and subsequent police interviews in January and February of that year.
Although he was released on bail during ongoing investigations, the danger he posed was evident.
While still on bail in July, Corteen contacted his second victim, also unable to be named, and began grooming her.
The court was told that he eventually took her to his residence in Copperfield Close, Burnley, where sexual activity occurred.
The judge, Sara Dodd, described Corteen as a dangerous offender, emphasizing the disturbing pattern of his predatory behavior towards young girls.
She remarked that such offending has severe and lasting consequences for the victims.
Judge Dodd acknowledged that Corteen had positive qualities, noting his background from a close-knit family, his talent as a golfer who had competed across the North of England, and his intelligence and work ethic.
However, she concluded that these positives did not outweigh the serious nature of his crimes, labeling him a sexual predator.
The court also heard about Corteen’s prior warnings from police.
In 2013, he was cautioned after grooming a girl and, in 2014, received an adult caution for similar offenses.
The day after his first victim’s 15th birthday, Corteen initiated contact via Facebook, asking her age and claiming he was 18 despite her stating she was 15.
Their conversations continued on Snapchat and iMessage, during which he repeatedly asked her to send explicit images, which she refused.
His first meeting with her in December did not involve sexual activity, but during a subsequent encounter, Corteen drove her to a secluded area in Hyndburn where sexual activity took place.
On a later occasion, he picked her up outside her school and took her to his home in Burnley, where they engaged in consensual sex, although the victim later expressed her discomfort with some aspects of the encounter.
When the victim confided in her family about Corteen’s abusive messages, the police were contacted.
Meanwhile, Corteen, still on bail, attempted to contact his second victim by sending her a friend request and continued messaging her, claiming he was 18.
After several weeks, he persuaded her to send him a nude photo, which did not show her face.
On August 2, Corteen picked her up in his car and took her to his house for sex, again with some parts of the encounter she did not consent to.
Fearing pregnancy, she confided in her family and sought emergency contraception.
When her father discovered Corteen’s true age, he warned him via text message to stay away from young girls.
The police were alerted, and Corteen was arrested on August 3.
During police interviews, he admitted to all allegations, including his previous offenses.
The following day, he appeared before Blackburn magistrates and was remanded in custody.
In court, Corteen pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including three counts of grooming a female child, seven counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, and one count of inciting a female child to engage in a sexual act.
Judge Sara Dodd sentenced him to six years in prison, with an additional three-year license period upon release.
She also ordered him to register as a sex offender for life and imposed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, underscoring the seriousness of his crimes and the ongoing risk he poses to the community.
