A PAEDOPHILE who preyed on teenage girls has been sentenced for further offences while behind bars.
Giles Cross, 47, led an extravagant lifestyle as the owner and director of a printing company in Tarporley, near Chester, before he was convicted on five counts of sexual activity with a child under 16 and one count of inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity.
Cross, previously of Winsford, was jailed for four years in January last year.
He was a member of the local polo club and a regular visitor to stables in Delamere Forest.
Despite his seemingly ostentatious lifestyle, Cross lived with his parents in a modest semi-detached house in Winsford and had few true friends of his own.
Following Cross’ conviction and the publicity the case attracted locally, an 18-year-old woman came forward to police reporting she had also been a victim of Cross.
He was produced from prison, interviewed by detectives and charged with a further five counts of sexual activity with a child.
On Monday he was sentenced at Chester Crown Court to two years and four months in prison, to run consecutively to the four years he is currently serving.
Cross is on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and has received an updated Sex Offender Prevention Order.
The officer in the case, DC Kerry Gilgrist, said: “Our priority is to keep the public safe – particularly the young who are most vulnerable to this type of sex offender.
“We know from both this case and the case for which he was initially imprisoned that Giles Cross is a predatory paedophile who manipulated his young and naive victims.
“We know he abused social networking sites, plaguing his victims with communications of different types.
“It took a lot of courage and strength of character for the victim to come forward and report Cross, particularly as after the first criminal trial his sickening behaviour was publicly exposed.”
DCI Giles Orton, head of Cheshire Constabulary’s Strategic Public Protection Unit, said: “This is a particularly disturbing case in that the crimes committed by Cross were extremely serious and led to his imprisonment. His criminality has now been further compounded by the fact that it has come to light that his crimes were not limited to one victim.
“I would urge anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to report the matter to the police. Similarly, anyone with concerns about a friend or family member can seek support and advice.
“Paedophiles concentrate on pursuing their targets by any means available to them, often using social networking and text messages.
“It is not uncommon for paedophiles to communicate with a number of victims at any one time, under a number of different profiles.”
Police have urged parents to be aware of the online activities of their children, to monitor the websites they visit and who they are communicating with online.
Advice is available at www.cheshire.police.uk/advice--information/child-safety/child-abuse