Gareth Napier – Mansfield

A man who groomed and sexually abused a 14-year-old girl was released from prison after serving eight years, and is now living close to a primary school in Mansfield.

Gareth Napier was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison at Lincoln Crown Court in 2017 after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a child.

Napier, who was 33 and unemployed at the time of his conviction, groomed the schoolgirl before subjecting her to repeated sexual abuse with lasted several weeks.

The victim confided in a family member who contacted police who began their investigation.

As the case progressed, Napier attempted to intimidate the victim into withdrawing the allegations.

He contacted her from multiple social media accounts and sent threatening text messages demanding that she drop the charges.

Napier was living in Lincoln when the offences were committed but originally came from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

He was released from prison last year, after serving approximately eight years of his sentence.

The victim cannot be identified because survivors of sexual offences receive lifelong anonymity under UK law.