MICHAEL HASELDINE'S HORRIFIC CRIMES IN HEYWOOD AND GREATER MANCHESTER REVEALED

In a case that has shocked the community of Heywood and the wider Greater Manchester area, Michael Haseldine, a 44-year-old man, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after a series of heinous crimes involving the sexual abuse of young girls. The severity of his actions was condemned by the presiding judge, who described the catalogue of abuse as the most 'shameful, disgusting and appalling' he had ever encountered.

Over a span of 13 years, Haseldine fathered an astonishing 25 children with different women, all of whom were girls aged just 15 at the time of conception. These revelations came to light during his trial, which focused on his repeated rapes of two young girls over an eight-year period. One of the victims was only six years old when the abuse began, and the other was just five. Disturbingly, the younger girl was forced to witness her sister's ordeal, a tactic that appeared to be part of Haseldine’s disturbing grooming process, preparing her for similar abuse in the future.

The mother of these two young victims, now aged 15 and 16, has a criminal record with 58 convictions for prostitution. Despite the gravity of her children’s suffering, her maximum punishment was a mere £5 fine, highlighting the often lenient penalties associated with such cases.

Details of Haseldine’s disturbing sexual history reveal a man with a voracious sexual appetite, having committed his first sex offence at the age of 11, according to evidence presented at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester. His occupation as a private hire taxi driver provided him with easy access to potential victims, and he exploited this position to prey on vulnerable girls.

His personal life was marked by instability; he married only once, a union that ended when he was 26. In 1981, he moved in with a girl when she was only 15, with whom he fathered a child. Subsequently, he cohabited with other women he met through his work, continuing a pattern of relationships with young girls and fathering children with them while they were still in their early teens.

Police records paint a grim picture of Haseldine’s life, stating: 'He has 25 children to different women all of whom conceived under the age of 16. As soon as each child is born, he begins another relationship.' This pattern underscores a disturbing cycle of exploitation and neglect.

Greater Manchester Police have promised a thorough investigation into the case, acknowledging that both law enforcement and social services failed to act on clear evidence of Haseldine’s activities. In 1991, when Haseldine was a father of six, his children were already on a social services at-risk register. Six years earlier, social workers had assessed him following the death of a five-month-old son from sudden infant death syndrome, but no further action was taken.

The two girls he admitted raping, involved in nine specific charges, endured abuse from 1988 to 1995. Police interviewed the victims in 1992, but they were so terrified of Haseldine that they chose to remain silent. Their suffering was compounded by the fact that their 'rewards' for enduring his abuse were cigarettes and alcohol, highlighting the neglect and exploitation they faced.

Detective Chief Inspector Ken Seddon, who leads Greater Manchester’s Family Crime Investigation Unit, expressed his outrage: 'This man has spent all his adult life engaging in sex with children. It is the most dreadful case of persistent child abuse and depravity I have encountered.' He criticized the police and social services for their failure to investigate numerous warning signs, noting that many allegations against Haseldine were dismissed or left unsubstantiated. One such dismissed allegation involved him having four young girls in bed with him, which was not pursued further.

Seddon emphasized that the system has since improved, stating, 'The only crumb of comfort is that the system now is such that it wouldn’t happen again.' He also pointed out that Haseldine moved frequently between addresses across different local authorities, often employing aliases, which made tracking him more difficult for authorities.

In court, Judge Jonathan Geake condemned Haseldine for treating the two girls as 'sexual toys.' He described how the victims had been terrorized and bullied, subjected to 'dreadful' sexual practices. The girls had maintained a silence for years, only coming forward after hearing that Haseldine had been jailed for 12 months for a sex assault on another girl. Their courage in finally speaking out was met with profound judicial condemnation.

The case, which has left a lasting impact on the community of Heywood and the surrounding areas, was described by the judge as one that 'chilled the heart.' The community and authorities alike are now left to grapple with the failures that allowed such abuse to occur over so many years, and to ensure that justice is served for the victims.