MARTIN YANEY, A MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTOR IN MANCHESTER, JAILED FOR GROOMING AND SEXUAL ABUSE OF 15-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A martial arts instructor from Manchester who groomed and engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl under his care has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.Manchester Crown Court was told that Martin Yankey, then aged 34, took the girl from a children's home to exploit her.
The victim, who is anonymous for legal reasons, was frequently reported missing from the home during the period of her interaction with Yankey, as he would take her to his home.
Yankey, now 37 and residing on Firs Road, Over Hulton, groomed the girl between February and May 2018 at his then residence in High Street, Atherton.
A taxi driver reported taking the girl to Yankey’s house in April 2018, and police were alerted after multiple reports of her missing and concerns about Yankey's involvement.
On April 13, 2018, police visited Yankey’s home following a tip-off from a taxi driver who reported that Yankey's address appeared suspicious and that he had taken the girl and showed police a picture of her, confirming she was only 15.
Prosecutor Rachel Shenton explained that during police visits on April 13, 2018, Yankey denied knowing the girl.
Subsequent visits on May 1 and 5 revealed he claimed she was missing from her children's home, again denying any connection to her.
On May 5, police showed Yankey photographs of the girl, informing him she was a missing 15-year-old from a children’s home, and warned that if she was found at his address, he could be arrested for child abduction.
The court learned that due to her frequent disappearances, the girl was placed with foster carers.
However, she left her foster placement on May 18, getting into a white Range Rover that sped away from the scene.
Yankey’s home was searched again after he complained about repeated police visits.
The girl was found hiding in a kitchen cupboard, and Yankey was arrested for child abduction.
The victim told police that she often visited Yankey’s home, where they drank alcohol and he gave her cocaine, resulting in her suffering a damaged septum from cocaine use.
She believed her visits had evolved into a relationship, as Yankey would tell her he loved her.
Ms.
Shenton stated that this was a clear example of grooming, especially considering the girl’s vulnerability as a child in care.
Yankey claimed he believed the girl was 17 and denied their relationship was sexual.
The victim’s statement detailed her suffering: “I was given drink and drugs and suffered extreme sexual abuse.
I started showering excessively and self-harming in an attempt to understand it all.
I couldn’t make sense of what had happened.” She has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, and has attempted to take her own life.
Yankey pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child, abduction, and possession of indecent images of a child.
He was also subjected to a sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order covering the victim.
In his defense, solicitor Jo Morris highlighted Yankey’s current committed relationship and argued for leniency, citing his diagnosed psychosis and epilepsy in 2019, which she claimed affected his decision-making at the time.
Judge Hilary Manley sentenced Yankey, condemning him as “a devious and selfish man.” She stated: “You exploited a 15-year-old who was vulnerable and troubled, while she was in your care.
You, more than twice her age, spent years working with young people and should have known about safeguarding.
Instead, you gave her cocaine that damaged her, and engaged in grooming behaviors.
Despite police visits, you continually denied knowing her—until the last search, when you were found hiding her in a cupboard.
“You engaged in a sexually exploitative relationship, providing her with so much cocaine that she lost a full day's memory.
She feels she will never recover and has tried to end her life.
You have shown no remorse and appear unaware of the harm you've caused.
You see yourself as a victim, which is deeply disturbing.
It is also noteworthy and concerning that your current partner is 20 years old—another sizeable age gap, though not illegal.”
