A landlord who coerced a 15-year-old girl to perform sexual favours to cover her rent has been jailed for four years.

John Tatton, 72, sexually abused the girl repeatedly over the course of six months at the house in Heywood, Greater Manchester.

Around this time she was also being abused by a group of men who were later sentenced to a total of 77 years for running a child sexual exploitation ring in Rochdale.

Tatton,  formerly of Rochdale but now of Hanley in Stoke-on-Trent, was convicted of a number of sexual offences following a five-day trial at Bolton Crown Court.

He was convicted of five offences of sexual activity with a child and one offence of sexual assault.

He was sentenced to four years imprisonment and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The victim, who was 15-years-old at the time of the abuse, had been going through some difficult times at home.

She made friends with a number of other teenage girls who had chaotic lifestyles involving alcohol, drugs and eventual sexual exploitation.

She moved into a house in Heywood with a number of these girls but Tatton, who owned the house, told the victim she couldn’t live there rent free.

Detective Constable Dave South said: “Tatton is a sexual predator who took complete advantage of a vulnerable teenage girl.

“He subjected her to a campaign of abuse over a six month period, during which she was forced to submit to him to ‘pay’ for her rent.

“Tatton is clearly a danger to young people and I hope today’s sentence provides a level of reassurance to his victim.”

– UK Mirror