29 February 2024 , 11:28
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The father of the teenage boy who murdered Brianna Ghey has been jailed for sex offences - one of which involved a child.
Kyle Ratcliffe, 36, the father of Eddie Ratcliffe, was jailed for 15 months at Manchester Crown Court after admitted two offences of exposure in November last year involving two 16-year-old girls at a bus stop. He also pleaded guilty to taking an indecent photo of a pre-pubescent girl by covertly recording video of her in a changing room in August last year. Ratcliffe, from Leigh, Greater Manchester, was unmasked as a sex offender on Thursday. In court today, he was described as a risk to girls. As he was sentenced, an order preventing reports from identifying him as the father of Eddie, who was 15 when he stabbed Brianna to death, was also lifted.
The 36-year-old admitted exposing himself on two occasions on November 22 and 23 last year - days before his son went on trial for the murder of 16-year-old Brianna at Culcheth Linear Park near Warrington, Cheshire. The older Ratcliffe, who the MEN reports is a manager of a truck company who also ran a kickboxing gym, was jailed for 15 months for his offences. Judge John Potter said the prosecution and conviction of Ratcliffe's son for murder was not "in any way" mitigation for the offending.
Judge Potter said: "This is not the first time in your life you have harmed others in this way. The offences on this indictment coupled with your previous convictions make it quite clear that you have a sexual attraction towards female children and teenagers whom you objectivise for the purpose of you own sexual gratification. This, Mr Ratcliffe, has potential to cause very serious harm and portrays you, in my judgment, as currently presenting a significant risk to such individuals."
Eddie Ratcliffe's custody image (PA)He was charged with the three offences on January 17 and remanded into custody, with a court order preventing reporting of the link between the two cases pending the older Ratcliffe facing a trial. Following Kyle Ratcliffe's guilty pleas, the restriction was lifted. Kyle Ratcliffe must also be on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
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Eddie Ratcliffe was found guilty in December alongside Scarlett Jenkinson of stabbing Brianna to death after luring her to the park in February last year. The 16-year-old - initially named only as Boy Y before a court order protecting his anonymity due to his age was lifted - was jailed for a minimum of 20 years on February 2 for the murder. Jenkinson, also 16, was given 22 years.
Before the disclosure of Kyle Ratcliffe's crimes, neighbours who lived near their home in Leigh described the family as pleasant and respectable, and said they ‘kept themselves to themselves’. Kyle Ratcliffe is the manager of a truck company, and would often be spotted tinkering with vehicles outside the family’s home on Imperial Drive, the MEN previously reported.
He was also involved in kickboxing, and travelled to Jamaica in 2018 for the Amateur World Championships, where he and his son both competed. He also ran a kickboxing gym in Leigh, which he opened last year but has since closed.