Stephen Wright sentenced for sexually abusing serving police officer as a child

Stephen Wright

Stephen Wright, who abused a serving police officer while he was a teenager, has been sentenced.

Wright (16/01/49), of HMP Forest Bank, was sentenced to a total of 18 months for three counts of indecent assault. This will be added to a 22-year prison sentence he is already serving for sexual abuse of boys.

The charges relate to a period between 1978 and 1981 when victim Darren Kenny, now 50, was aged between 12 and 15.

The court heard how Wright began working behind the bar at a pub in Rochdale owned by Darren’s dad and would stay in Darren’s bedroom after he finished work and force him to perform sex acts on him.

Darren also spoke of how Wright would swear him to secrecy and buy him sweets and gifts but he was too scared to tell his parents about the abuse, which continued until he moved out of the pub.

After the death of his dad in 1995 and his mum in 2002, Darren attended counselling and spoke of how he missed out on bringing his children up because of the painful memories.

Darren, who works on GMP’s Tameside borough, believed that Wright had died until he searched his name in 2014 and found that he was serving time for other sexual abuse offences.

The court heard how this made Darren feel physically sick and he immediately contacted the police. Wright was subsequently arrested and charged in 2015.

Detective Sergeant Julianna Barker, of GMP’s Rochdale Borough, said: “Wright abused a position of trust in order to systematically abuse a vulnerable young boy.

“I would like to pay tribute to Darren for his bravery in coming forward and his strength of character in sitting through this trial.

“Even though this sentence can never repair the damage that has been done by Wright’s actions, I hope that it can at least bring some closure to Darren.

“I also hope that this shows how seriously we take any form of abuse and that no matter how long ago the offences took place we will always look to bring offenders to justice.”

-Greater Manchester is nationally recognised as a model of good practice in terms of support services available to victims.

- If you or someone you know has been raped or sexually assaulted, we encourage you not to suffer in silence and report it to the police, or a support agency so you can get the help and support available.

- You can call Greater Manchester Police on 101, or alternatively people can refer themselves to St Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre on 0161 276 6515, whether or not you want make a police report.