Sex Offender arrested in Slattocks

Convicted sex offender John Tregalles.

Police hunting for a convicted Rochdale sex offender who went on the run, as reported on Rochdale Online on Friday, have today (Monday 29 September) made an arrest.

John Tregalles, 61, of Teignmouth, Devon, was due to appear at Bolton Crown Court on Thursday (26 September) to be sentenced for a number of historic offences.

Tregalles had been bailed by the courts to appear on Monday 15 September, he failed to do so and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Despite numerous efforts to trace him, he had evaded police. 

Less than two hours ago detectives acting on intelligence received from the public arrested a 61-year-old man in the Slattocks area of Rochdale.

Tregalles was sentenced in his absence from court to 20 years in prison and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life after he was found guilty of three counts of raping a child under 16 years of age and one count of buggery of a boy under 13.

He has also been found guilty of a three counts of indecent assault against boys aged under 13, two counts of gross indecency with a girl under 13 and two counts of aiding and abetting indecent assault on a girl under 13. In addition he was sentenced to four physical assaults on a boy under 13 and one physical assault on a girl under 13.

The charges relate to offences committed between 1986 and 1991, when he lived in the Rochdale area.