The serial predator who ruined the lives of young girls

'IT IS NOW CLEAR THAT THIS WAS NOT A ONE-OFF' 05:58, 22 May 2025 A serial predator raped a girl when he was a teenager - she would be the first of countless lives he ruined. Dean

Hodges, now 25, attacked the girl despite her repeated protestations. She was left in pain and bleeding, Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Years later, as an adult, he went on

to abuse two teenage girls. Hodges raped and attempted to rape his first victim. He then went onto commit offences of sexual assault and assault by penetration against his second victim. In

December last year, he was jailed for 11 years. Today, May 20, he was hauled back before the courts to be dealt with for the historic rape. He pleaded guilty to the offence yesterday, on the

day of his trial. Jailing him, Judge Neil Usher said: “It is now clear the rape you have committed was not a ‘one-off’ but rather just the first in a series of sexual offences which

continued through your childhood into young adulthood.” Hodges was 15 when he raped his first victim, who was just 13 and a virgin. The court heard that he forcefully assaulted her. She had

told him ‘no’ throughout the attack. In a statement read on her behalf, Geoff Whelan said she had turned to self harm after struggling to process what had happened to her. “It was too much

to bear. Dean humiliated me, took away my virginity and humility,” it read. “I felt I couldn’t talk to anybody, I lost trust with my family and friends and in future relationships. It

affected my education, I lost my appetite and I lost confidence. “After this, I lost respect for my body. I developed anxiety and it was easier to remain silent.” She added: “Everything I

have ever done has been plagued by him. It has affected every step I have made and every breath I have taken.” The court previously heard that Hodges was 19 when he abused his next victim,

when she was 15. His third victim was 16, when the defendant was 20-years-old. Manchester Crown Court heard that both had suffered horrendous ordeals. In December, the first victim bravely

gave her statement in court, in front of Hodges as he sat in the dock. She said: “I spent many years wanting to end my life, wondering why he would do this to me.” The woman said she has

suffered panic attacks and flashbacks. Addressing Hodges, she added: “It has taken me many years to come to the realisation of what you have done. You made me question my own self. After

years of battling myself I understand I have done nothing wrong.” In a statement read on her behalf by prosecutor Jonathan Savage, the second victim said there had been an occasion when she

was physically sick, after seeing someone who looked like Hodges. Reading her statement, Mr Savage continued: “She scrubs her body until her skin is red raw on occasions. She says the

defendant ruined her life, and what he did to her will always be with her, and that her life will not be the same again. “She feels safer now the defendant is in prison, she says, but still

feels anxiety.” Defending Hodges at today's hearing, Gwen Henshaw said he was an ‘immature, young man’ with various difficulties. “He is a very different person already from when he was

a teenager,” she said. “He will continue to reflect and develop his maturity so he can be a more respectful and mature member of society.” Article continues below Hodges, of Durden Mews,

Shaw, Oldham, was handed 32 months in jail to run alongside his current term of 11 years.