EXCLUSIVE
A Nantwich man has been jailed for more than three years after he was caught creating and possessing indecent images of young girls.
Christopher Heavey, 38, contacted his victims on social media platforms like Snapchat and lured them in with the offer of vapes.
Heavey, living in Nantwich at the time of his arrest in May 2024 and a former member of Nantwich Running Club, was sentenced and jailed for 40 months at Chester Crown Court on Friday.
Cheshire Police found hundreds of messages and numerous photos, and described him as “coercive” and a “predator”.
His ex-fiancee, who we have agreed not to name, spoke of her relief after a two-year horror ordeal since his arrest on May 17, 2024.
She said: “The only victims here are the children and Chris’s family. I was able to escape, they can’t.
“Two years of being strong and patient, trusting in the police and the justice system… it’s been incredibly difficult.
“Having to sit back and see him try and control the situation and lie to people.
“The truth is out there now.”
Heavey pleaded guilty to messaging young girls, having and creating pictures and attempting to blackmail his young victims.
His former partner added: “The police described him as “sophisticated” to me and aggressive and manipulative.
“He knew exactly what he was doing, and that he was a very busy man and has been doing this for years. They found more than 90 separate conversations on his phone.”
It has emerged the girls he targeted were often local to the Crewe and Nantwich area.
“The man lived almost a double life and it disgusts me that I was living with him whilst he was doing all of this,” she added.
“When I picked him up at 10pm from Middlewich custody on May 17th 2024, he admitted it all to me and his sister.
“The next couple of days were a blur… what the hell do I do?”
She described how police left her with leaflets about women staying with their partner, supporting them through trial and/or prison.
She added: “I just couldn’t see that life for me… this man I once loved was a complete stranger to me.
“One of the stand out lines he said to me in the aftermath was ‘every van that drove past the house.. I thought that was it, the police are here to arrest me’ – how can he have lived like that?
“I feel as though I’ve been grieving the loss of someone who never truly existed and also grieving the future I thought did exist for me.
“I may never have children or get married, and my father may never walk me down the aisle. Chris stole that from me.
“My family and friends were incredible with getting me out of that situation and selling the house. Thank you forever to those people.”
Detective Sergeant Gavin Hasting, who led the investigation into Heavey, told Nantwich News: “Heavey deliberately targeted vulnerable children on Snapchat, coercing them to engage in sexual activity in exchange for vapes.
“He knew his victims were underage, and he tried to convince them that what he was doing was normal, but in reality, he was just a sexual predator who was only interested in fulfilling his own sexual needs.
“I welcome the sentence handed to Heavey and I hope this result encourages other victims of sexual offences to come forward and report them to us.
“We treat all reports of sexual offences extremely seriously, and any allegations will be thoroughly investigated, with the wishes and needs of the victim as our main priority.”
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