'Extremely dangerous' West Yorkshire man jailed for abducting young girl

A Holmfirth man who lured a child into his car and drove away has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison.

Gavin Sykes was seen encouraging the young girl into his Toyota Celia car in Holmfirth shortly before 8pm on June 20, 2019.

The police were called and he was stopped and arrested 15 minutes later.

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The 42-year-old was charged and appeared before magistrates two days later.

Gavin Sykes.Gavin Sykes.
Gavin Sykes.

He was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison at Leed Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to abducting the child.

He was also sentenced after being found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Police Constable Danni Nugent of the Kirklees District Safeguarding Unit, said: “Sykes is clearly an extremely dangerous individual and we are pleased to see him receive a lengthy custodial sentence for what was a dreadful offence.

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“He lured his young victim into his vehicle and it is fortunate the act was witnessed and quickly reported, prompting an immediate police response.

“We strongly believe the victim would have come to further harm had on duty officers not been able to deploy so rapidly and locate his car when they did.”

She added: “This incident has clearly been very harrowing for the victim and her family and we hope that seeing this man jailed will be of some measure of comfort for them.”