Dirty old British paedophile of Manchester who arranged to rape 12-week-old baby jailed

Mark Whalley,71, was tracked down after an intelligence tip-off from Norway

By Edward Era Barbacena 

BBC:  A paedophile who arranged to rape a 12-week-old baby at a hotel has been jailed.

Mark Whalley was arrested in the foyer of a hotel in Manchester city centre where he planned to carry out the abuse.

The 71-year-old admitted arranging a child sex offence, making and distributing indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography at Manchester Crown Court.

He was sentenced to 80 months.

The court heard Whalley was tracked down after detectives received a tip-off from police in Norway.

National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators found Whalley had discussed his sexual interest in children under 12 on the online Wickr platform.

He had shared indecent images of children with other users and described the extreme abuse he wanted to engage in.

Detectives said Whalley, from Manchester, had used the site to message an individual who said they had access to a baby, and discussed how he would like to carry out the abuse when they met.

Whalley was arrested on suspicion of child abuse offences before he could get in the lift at the hotel.

At this point, he told officers they were mistaken and attempted to pass the meeting off as an affair.

Whalley was arrested on suspicion of child abuse offences before he could get in the lift at the hotel.

At this point, he told officers they were mistaken and attempted to pass the meeting off as an affair.