JOHN CORTEGGIO FROM BRIGHTON SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS FOR GROOMING AND SEXUAL OFFENCES INVOLVING VULNERABLE TEENAGER
In a case that has shocked the Brighton community, 44-year-old John Corteggio has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term of 14 years after being found guilty of a series of serious sexual offences involving a vulnerable underage girl.The offences came to light after investigators uncovered disturbing images on his personal computer, which was located at his residence in Queen’s Park Rise, Brighton.
Authorities revealed that Corteggio had previously been on the sex offender register until 2006 due to an earlier conviction.
Following his latest crimes, he will be required to sign the register for the rest of his life once he is released from prison.
The investigation was initiated after a fellow occupant of Corteggio’s address noticed suspicious images on his computer and reported their concerns to the police.
This led to a thorough inquiry that ultimately uncovered the full extent of Corteggio’s misconduct.
Detective Constable Paul Ash of Sussex Police stated, “The offences came to our attention last year when another occupant of Corteggio’s address saw images on his computer and became suspicious.
We immediately investigated and traced the girl, who provided us with full details of what had happened to her and gave evidence against him in court.” It was established that Corteggio had systematically befriended the young girl over a period of time, exploiting her youth and vulnerability for his own gratification.
The court proceedings revealed that he was responsible for 19 sexual offences, which were split across two separate trials.
The first trial, held in February of this year, involved 15 charges, while the second, in September, covered the remaining four.
On November 13, at Hove Crown Court, Corteggio was handed a 14-year extended prison sentence.
The charges included five serious sexual assaults involving penetration, one incident of inciting sexual activity, multiple counts of making indecent images of the girl, and an act of voyeurism.
In addition, he was convicted of voyeurism involving a second woman and possession of prohibited images depicting animals.
The court also ordered that Corteggio serve a minimum of seven years before he can apply for parole.
He will remain on a release licence until the full 14-year term has expired.
Furthermore, he was issued an indefinite sexual offences prevention order, which prohibits him from having unsupervised contact with girls under the age of 16.
It is noteworthy that Corteggio was previously featured in The Argus newspaper back in 2008, when he was operating a company called JACS The Helpful Chaps.
At that time, he had complained about a potential fine related to fly-tipping, highlighting a different aspect of his life prior to his criminal convictions.
