MAN KIDNAPPED AND RAPED UNDERAGE GIRL IN HIS CAR … AFTER MAKING HER DELETE SOCIAL MEDIA AND PUT PHONE INTO ‘GHOST MODE’ SO SHE COULDN’T BE FOUND. Gerome Kendall, 27, convinced the teenager to get into his car before raping her twice and sexually assaulting her

May 14, 2021
Sophie Halle-Richards
Manchester Evening News

A man has been jailed for 15 years after he kidnapped and raped an underage girl after persuading her to get into his car.
Gerome Kendall, 27, made his victim put her phone on 'ghost mode' and deleted her social media accounts so her concerned family could not contact her.
He also told her that she was his girlfriend and to give a different name, claiming to be 18 if anyone asked her age, Cheshire Crown Court heard.
Kendall convinced the teenager to get into his car on the morning of Saturday 4 July, last year.
The court heard he then drove the vehicle to a country road in Macclesfield where he raped the victim twice.
He later sexually assaulted the girl at a petrol station in Wythenshawe and at an address in Burnley, Lancashire.
The terrifying ordeal only came to an end when Kendall crashed the car into a bush in Wythenshawe.
A passer by who Kendall sought help from subsequently returned the victim to her family, the court heard.
He then drove back in the crashed car to the Macclesfield area, where he was living at the time - as police waited for him.
Officers blocked the road to prevent Kendall escaping as he arrived home at around 11pm that day.
As he tried to flee, he crashed into an unmarked police car and another vehicle, before being arrested and taken into custody.
Kendall had been drinking alcohol on the day of his crime spree and was found to be nearly two times over the limit.
Gerome Kendall, of HMP Altcourse, was charged with two counts of raping a girl aged between 13 and 15, two counts of sexual assault and one count of kidnap.
Kendall was also charged with dangerous driving, drink driving and driving without a licence and insurance.
He admitted the driving offences but pleaded not guilty to the kidnap and sexual offences.
Kendall was found guilty of those offences at Chester Crown Court on Thursday 15 April, following a four-day trial.
He returned to the court to be sentenced on Thursday 13 May.
On top of the custodial sentence, Kendall was ordered to sign the sexual offenders’ register for life and to comply with the terms of a sexual harm prevention order.
He will not be eligible for parole for at least 10 years.
Detective Chief Inspector Adam Ross, a Crime Manager at Cheshire Constabulary, added: "Sexual offences, particularly rape, are horrendous crimes, and this is a particularly distressing case.
"I would like to thank all the officers involved in the investigation for all their hard work in gathering the required level of evident to bring Gerome Kendall to justice.
"Now that he is facing the consequences of his despicable actions in the form of a substantial prison sentence, he can no longer pose a threat to girls.
"I hope that this case and the sentence that Kendall has received encourages other victims of sexual offences to come forward and report them to us.
"Cheshire Constabulary takes any allegation of sexual offences extremely seriously, no matter how long ago they relate to.
"Any allegation will be thoroughly investigated, with the wishes and needs of the victim as our main priority.
"Victims should never feel ashamed to talk about what they have been subjected to. They will receive the help and support they need from our specialist officers, as well as from other support agencies we work alongside, and all victims of sexual offences have the right to anonymity."

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