A serial sex pest, who over the course of four years smeared semen on young schoolgirls across Manchester, walked free from jail today.
Dale Cranshaw, 29, of Calder Crescent, Whitefield, escaped a prison sentence at Bolton Crown Court, but was instead given a three-year supervision order.
He was also slapped with a sex offender prevention order after pleading guilty to five counts of sexual assaults.
Cranshaw first began his ‘disgusting’ crimes in November 2009, when he smeared a white substance on the back and tights of a 14-year old girl.
He proceeded to fling semen in three separate attacks on girls before the assaults stopped in 2010, and police were forced to delay their investigations.
Detective Chief Inspector Sara Wallwork said: “Naturally, this incident caused a lot of concern in the community and while speculation started to build, officers in the neighbourhood team had to work hard to offer reassurance on the ground, including working with parents and schools.
“At the same time, detectives launched a thorough investigation to try and find the person responsible. Despite their enquiries, it was still not clear who was responsible, so no suspect was identified. ”
However, on January 11, police were alerted to a complaint by a 13-year-old girl of a man putting a sticky substance on her tights.
The similarities and location meant that the original team of detectives investigating the first series of attacks recognised the links, and believed that the same person was responsible.
Information then came in naming Cranshaw as a possible suspect as he resembled a man caught on CCTV images, and during interviews admitted all five offences.
Each of the substances left had to be sent for forensic examination. No human DNA could be found, although detectives believed that the semen was that of a man.
DCI Wallwork said: “What Dale Cranshaw did was not only bizarre, it was also disgusting.
“His actions understandably concerned a community that we are proud to police. We have always worked hard to make the people of Whitefield feel safe, but during two separate periods, we had to work even harder.
“The two main officers on this case worked with great passion and drive to find the man responsible. All involved did a fantastic job and the public should be proud of them.”
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