Coventry Man Jailed For Abusing Boys In Egypt

27 June 2014, 18:55 | Updated: 27 June 2014, 19:00

A man from Coventry has been jailed for 4 and a half years for travelling to Egypt to abuse children.

A former football coach from Coventry, who travelled to Egypt for more than a decade to pay for sex with children as young as 11, is beginning a four-and-a-half year jail term.

Alan Rattigan visited the African country on several occasions between 2000 and 2013, where he would abuse the same young boys, all aged under 16.

The 64-year-old was caught after officers from the West Midlands Police Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team (OCSET) received information about his activities earlier this year.

When they raided his home on Avon Street in Wyken they found photographs and videos which directly linked him to the sexual abuse of children abroad.

Analysis of his bank accounts showed cash transfers to Egypt, together with emails from children living in the country asking for money.

In interview, Rattigan admitted travelling to the country and paying for sex with the youngsters.

He also told police that he photographed and videoed the abuse in Luxor and Hurghada and brought the images home.

In total, police found 1,131 photographs of Rattigan abusing the youngsters and a further 3,084 indecent images of children that he had downloaded from the internet.

Five of them showed abuse of the worst possible kind.

At the time of his arrest Rattigan was an assistant coach at Pinley Football Club in Coventry and West Midlands Police worked closely with the Football Association throughout the investigation.

On Wednesday (25 June) Rattigan was sentenced to four-and-a half years in prison at Warwick Crown Court. He was also given a Sex Offenders Prevention Order (SOPO) to run for 15 years and will remain on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

DC Simon Hale, from West Midlands Police, said: "Rattigan was essentially a sex tourist; he knew he could satisfy his desires by travelling abroad to a place where, sadly, some families are so desperate to make money, they’ll even sell their own children.

"But these kids will have been no less affected by Rattigan’s actions than if they had been living in this country and it’s quite right that he’s been brought to justice for what he did."

DC Hale added: "Work to tackle the sexual exploitation of children is going on every day across the West Midlands; whether it’s grooming for sexual activity or making, possessing or distributing indecent images − we will catch those responsible."