Redcar paedophile Michael Dunn jailed for 27 years Published duration 1 March 2017

image copyright Cleveland Police image caption Michael Dunn raped and abused four victims over several years

A violent paedophile who made a "hidey hole" in his home to conceal a girl he was abusing has been jailed for 27 years.

Michael Dunn knocked through the wall behind his fridge at his house in Mottram, Greater Manchester to create a cavity to hide the runaway from police

Teesside Crown Court heard the 57-year-old, from Redcar, raped and abused four girls over a period of decades.

His offences took place around the country.

Greater Manchester Police has referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) amid concerns opportunities to catch him were missed.

During the trial it emerged one of Dunn's victims had contacted police about the abuse in the 1990s but he persuaded witnesses to lie and the girl was told her complaint would not be taken further.

'Paranoid and controlling'

After Dunn's sentencing, his brother Robert Dunn said: "I think he deserved more than he got, the judge was very lenient considering he's got away with what he was doing for the best part of 40 years.

"I hope he never gets out."

media caption Robert Dunn said he hoped his brother would never be released

Dunn was convicted in January of 10 rapes, false imprisonment and indecent assault.

One of his victims was aged just 10 or 11 when he first raped her.

Judge Tony Briggs said: "The history reveals you to be a devious, manipulative and controlling man with a strong urge to dominate."

The court had heard he was "paranoid, controlling and short tempered".

Prosecutors said his victims "suffered physically" if they challenged him and "he had sex when he wanted".

image copyright Cleveland Police image caption Dunn knocked through the wall behind his fridge to create a cavity

The court heard while living in Mottram, Dunn would use a bag of dust and a panel to cover the hole where one girl was kept, concealing her from police on eight or nine occasions and kept his two German Shepherd dogs nearby to put off police from looking too hard for her.

He knew she had already been the victim of sexual abuse, having been raped and beaten by another man.

Dunn, who also lived in Newcastle and Cambridgeshire, imprisoned a second female victim, subjecting her to repeated violence, and filled his house with cameras, locks and alarms, the court was told.

He also groomed and sexually assaulted another vulnerable under-age girl in the 1990s, giving her alcohol and cigarettes and raped another pre-teenage girl.

Alongside the rapes, Dunn was convicted of three charges of false imprisonment and three charges of indecent assault.

He was cleared of one charge of rape, one of making a threat to kill and one of causing grievous bodily harm.

'Truly sickening'

Rod Hunt, defending, said Dunn was undergoing tests for cancer and partly blamed his client's violence and sexual offending on his alcoholism.

Det Sgt Dave Pettrick, of Cleveland Police, said: "Essentially, Dunn groomed several women and young girls, in some cases making them completely dependent on him, and carrying out sexual offences against all of them.

"Some of the victims were kept in line through Dunn's extreme violence or even through the fear of violence and he had complete and absolute control over their lives."

Children's charity the NSPCC said authorities should now "examine how Dunn was able to carry out this horrific campaign of abuse for so long".

A spokesman said: "Dunn used fear and intimidation to control his victims and forced them to keep silent for years. The repeated sexual abuse they suffered at his hands is truly sickening.

"Dunn is a danger to the public."