Predatory Oswaldtwistle sex offender jailed

A man from Oswaldtwistle was jailed today at Preston Crown Court for 44 sexual offences.

Peter Barnes, 57, was deemed a dangerous offender at the sentence hearing and jailed for 24 years with a six-year extended licence period. 

He was given a lifetime sexual harm prevention order and was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life. 

In October 2022 one woman reported to the police that Barnes had sexually abused her as a child. 

During the subsequent investigation and prosecution, further women came forward to speak up about the sexual abuse they had suffered at his hands.

Barnes was charged with 44 sexual offences, including four counts of rape against five children and two women. 

The earliest offences were committed in the late 1990s, with the more recent offending taking place in 2023.

The youngest victim was aged between nine and 11 when he raped and sexually assaulted her.

Barnes initially denied all of the offences but pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault in July 2023.

He was found guilty of the remaining 43 sexual offences following a trial in June 2024.

Alex Mann, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Peter Barnes is a sexual predator who targeted and groomed children as young as nine.

“He showed no remorse and in failing to take responsibility for his actions, he forced his victims to relive their ordeal at a trial, which further compounded the severe trauma his actions had caused.

“Thanks to the women who supported the prosecution, together with our colleagues at Lancashire police, we were able to build a strong case which proved Barnes’s predatory, manipulative sexual offending against the five children and two women.

“I can only hope that now Barnes has been jailed, the women will be able to move forward with their lives.“