Detective praises courage of young rape victims after Hove man jailed

A detective has praised the courage of two young women who were raped as girls by a man from Hove.

Detective Constable Stewart Cameron, from Sussex Police, spoke out after a judge jailed rapist Michael Manion at Brighton Crown Court yesterday (Monday 24 April).

Manion, 22, of Nutley Close, Hangleton, raped one of his victims as she slept. She was 16 years old when the offence happened in November 2010.

A jury convicted Manion of the attack in September last year but failed to reach a verdict on three charges of raping a nine-year-old girl. He knew both victims.

Manion, who is unemployed, was convicted at a retrial which started last month of raping the girl between dates in July 2009 and August 2010.

Judge David Rennie jailed him for four and a half years for each of the three counts, with the sentences to run concurrently.

The judge also jailed Manion for two and a half years for raping the 16-year-old, with the sentence to run consecutively, making seven years in total.

Manion was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to last indefinitely, severely restricting his access to girls and young women. He will be a registered sex offender for life.

Detective Constable Cameron, from the Brighton Safeguarding Investigations Unit, said: “Both victims showed courage in standing up in court and giving their evidence of what Manion did to them.

“The offences weren’t reported at once, with both victims coming forward independently at different times in 2013 and 2015.

“Despite this, two separate juries have found him guilty of raping vulnerable females.

“Regardless of how long ago an assault was, anyone who reports incidents of this type to us will be supported and we will investigate.”