Shaun Freeman jailed for raping and abusing woman

Shaun Freeman

Shaun Freeman has been jailed after raping and violently abusing a woman from when she was a teenager.

Freeman (21/06/1960), of Great Howarth, was sentenced to 13 years in prison at Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday (17 February).

It follows a trial where a jury found him guilty of four counts of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of supplying Class B drugs and one count of assault.

The court heard how the victim was 14-years-old when Freeman began giving her drugs and just 15-years-old when he began making sexual advances towards her.

Over the space of several years he would then give her drugs including amphetamines, before raping her and sexually abusing her.

She was often kept in his bedroom suffering the effects of the drugs he gave to her and on one occasion he accused her of being with another man before repeatedly beating her with a hammer.

After managing to get away from Freeman in 2014, the woman bravely reported the abuse to police.

Detective Constable Hayley Thornley, from GMP’s Serious Sexual Offences Unit, said: “Freeman denied all of the offences from day one but the police and the jury saw straight through his lies.

“He ruined the victim’s childhood. Being groomed from such a young age has caused significant emotional trauma to the victim, hopefully today’s sentence will provide her with some final closure.

“I would like to praise the victim for her courage throughout this case. By coming forward and reporting this to police she has helped us put a dangerous man behind bars, protecting the public, and especially, young girls from being abused by Freeman.”