Huge scale of serial sex offender's crime left police 'disturbed'

The "unprecedented scale" of a "depraved" sex offender's crimes left police disturbed, one of the investigating officers has said.

Nicholas Moxham was convicted on Thursday of a catalogue of sex crimes, including multiple counts of rape and voyeurism.

The court heard the 52-year-old had lured sex workers to his home in suburban Stockport and secretly filmed himself and others carrying out sexual attacks, sometimes while their victims were unconscious.

Det Sgt Lee Attenborough said a raid of his home uncovered "huge catalogues of covertly recorded sexual material" which was so large, it took officers years to identify the women who were in the videos.

Moxham was found guilty of 32 offences, which also included controlling prostitution for gain, slavery and sexual assault, after a five-week trial.

Greater Manchester Police have since revealed Moxham had earlier admitted a host of further offences, including sexual assault of a child under 13, making and taking indecent photographs of children, possessing extreme pornography and keeping a brothel used for prostitution.

Det Sgt Attenborough said despite the level of offending that was uncovered, the investigation into Moxham "started small" after his neighbours reported concerns about suspicious activity at his home in June 2020.

He said workers at charities supporting sex workers had also raised concerns about Moxham, who was "very well known" to their clients and had often been seen "loitering" by homeless shelters.

Greater Manchester Police said Moxham went on to "recruit" six women as sex workers, arranging for clients to visit his Heaton Chapel home and an address in Longsight, Manchester.

Det Sgt Attenborough said when officers raided Moxham's home in July 2020, they found a "pale and malnourished" woman under a duvet on his living room floor.

They also found a myriad of hard drives, storage devices and covert filming equipment, such as pen and "spyhole" cameras.

He said the investigation team then had to watch hours of "very disturbing material".

"[It was] only then that we came to appreciate the scale of what was going on," he said.

"He treated his victims like a possession, like something that he owned, and arranged to sexually exploit them for his own sexual perversions."

He said as the investigation progressed, officers worked with sex worker support charity Manchester Action on Street Health to find the victims.

"We slowly began to identify those women, make approaches to them, and many had the courage to speak to us," he said.

"Without their courage and tenacity, we would not have this result."

He said the force remained in contact with the seven women, who were being supported by several support agencies and the charity Justice in Care.

He said even when he was charged, Moxham continued to deny many of his "horrendous crimes right to the very end, forcing his victims to go through the ordeal of a trial".

"He showed absolutely no regard for any of his victims, some of whom won’t even know they were targeted due to the calculated and covert methods he used to take advantage," he said.

“This is one of the most horrific and upsetting cases my team has ever had to deal with.

"Moxham is a controlling and predatory sex offender who thought he was untouchable."

He added that such was Moxham's arrogance that his "well-planned" offending "continued whilst he was under investigation" and he even boasted to "one of his victims that he was too clever for police".

"His victims have been extremely brave, and I can only commend them for coming forward to give evidence," he said.

"I know this hasn’t been easy, but thanks to their courageous actions, Moxham is off our streets and will now face a considerable time behind bars."

Moxham is due to be sentenced for his crimes on 12 July.

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