- Nicholas Hatton, 34, from Crewe, forced his victim to abuse a two-year-old child
- The teenager confessed to rape and sexual assault and was sentenced to 50 years in prison
- Hatton was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in inciting his victim
- Do you know more about this case? Email rory.tingle@mailonline.co.uk
A British internet predator who pressured a boy 7,000 miles away to rape a toddler has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, while the teenager he groomed will serve 50 years in the United States.
Deranged Nicholas Hatton, who had a huge cache of child abuse images, abused the boy from the age of 12, Chester Crown Court heard.
The teenager had been in contact with Hatton for several years starting in 2014 and told officers that he had been forced to sexually abuse his two-year-old relative on camera.
As a result of his confession, the boy has now been convicted in America of rape and sexual assault and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Meanwhile, Hatton, 34, of West Street, Crewe, was jailed for 18 years in Britain.
DO YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS CASE? EMAIL RORY.TINGLE@MAILONLINE.CO.UK
Nicholas Hatton, 34, from Crewe, was sentenced to 18 years for his role in grooming a boy and forcing him to rape a young relative in the United States
The court ruled that the boy was one of Hatton’s four victims. Detectives were able to identify two of them, both of whom were based in America.
The investigation into Hatton initially began in 2021 when officers from Cheshire Police received information from a social media company relating to his online activities.
A warrant was served at Hatton’s home in Crewe, where a number of electronic devices were seized and sent for analysis.
During an examination of the devices, officers found more than 12,000 indecent images of children and 750 indecent videos, as well as 1,050 prohibited images.
Following the discovery, Hatton was arrested again in June 2022.
During questioning, he denied any knowledge of who the children in the images were.
He was subsequently released on conditional bail. It was at this point that a victim identification officer from Cheshire Police identified the two US-based victims.
Hatton was subsequently charged and later pleaded guilty to all crimes.
He was charged in six cases with causing or inciting a boy under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity; two counts of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child aged 13 to 17 and one count of possession of indecent images of children.
Chester Crown Court heard the victim, who had been in contact with Hatton for several years from 2014, told officers he had been forced to sexually assault the two-year-old relative on camera.
Hatton also pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children, three charges of making indecent images of children and one charge of possessing prohibited images of children.
Following his sentencing, Detective Inspector Faye Taylor, of Cheshire Police’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: ‘This has been a complex and lengthy investigation which has ultimately exposed Hatton’s despicable behaviour.
“Throughout the investigation it was clear that Hatton is a sexual predator who preys on vulnerable young boys with no regard for the impact his actions would have on the victims or their families.
‘Because of the care he received as a child, a victim of Hatton in America received a long prison sentence, while his family member suffered prolonged sexual abuse.
“While none of the victims will ever be able to forget what happened to them, I hope that Hatton’s conviction and the sentence imposed on him will provide them with some closure.
‘I also hope that Hatton’s conviction will remind us that there are no boundaries when it comes to sexual abuse, that it can happen anywhere, anytime and that the impact can be life-changing.’
In addition to his prison sentence, Hatton was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life and was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.