Burnley man jailed for sexually assaulting two 14 year old girls

A Burnley man has been jailed for 11 years and three months after being found guilty of of four counts of sexual activity with a child following a trial at Preston Crown Court.

36 year-old Joseph Chapman had groomed two 14 year old girls he had befriended on Snapchat and gave them vapes. He used the Snapchat handle 'PJ'. Chapman then went onto sexually assault both victims in his car. The offences took place in Burnley and Colne.

The mother of the first victim became aware of the offending in March 2023 after finding packaging for disposable vape devices in her daughter’s bedroom while cleaning. When asked about it, the daughter said she had been given them by an older man.

She then told her sister that Chapman had sexually assaulted her. However she said she didn’t want to tell her mum because she was afraid of getting in trouble for vaping. The sexual assault took place in Chapman’s car the previous November.

The first victim was able to take down Chapman’s car registration number and saved it in the notes section of her iPhone.

Chapman also contacted the first victim’s friend on Snapchat, asking her to meet him. He also asked for a photograph of herself in her school uniform, which she refused to do.

In May 2023, the offending against the second victim came to light when her mother found an entry in her diary for January 2023, mentioning meeting ‘PJ the Pedo’ the next day. She continued to read the diary, noticing numerous entries mentioning PJ and that her daughter had received vapes from him.

The second victim went onto disclose that PJ had sexually assaulted her on two occasions.

In an impact statement to the court, the first victim said: “When the assault happened, I told my closest friends but as they didn’t know how to help they distanced themselves, leaving me alone. I couldn’t leave my house out of fear of seeing him in public. I was going to the shop only a door away from home when I saw a car that looked like his. I froze and ran back home crying, and I was then unable to sleep that night.

“Because of what Chapman did to me, I don’t trust older men and automatically assume the worst which affects how much I trust doctors, counsellors, co-workers and even family friends. Unfortunately, I became hypersexual but also asexual, I crave the male validation and attention but when I get it, I hate it and feel dirty.

“When Chapman pleaded not guilty it felt hopeless, like he was going to win. This also occurred on a different day than we were told ‘for his protection’ this made me furious as I didn’t think he should have any protection. So instead of being distracted from just one GCSE I was distracted for all of them. The lengthy legal process made me feel like it was going to continue ruining my teenage years. I almost gave up altogether but I couldn’t let him win.

“I spent years trying to block out the memories so when I was told that I would need to re-watch my video evidence and the need to watch it ahead of the trial, all I did was cry and worry it would take all my progress away. When I watched my evidence I felt two emotions; sadness for my younger self and anger for me now it was so surreal watching myself talking about what happened. I did experience a flashback after this but that’s when I knew I wasn’t giving up now and he would be punished.

“Due to Chapman having issues with his legal team, court dates were one again pushed back, causing me further anxieties, and now I’m writing this statement for my long overdue justice and closure. Not only for me but all other survivors of Chapman's selfish actions.”

DC Lee Walker, of Burnley CID, said: “Chapman is a dangerous and manipulative individual who groomed young girls online with the intent of going on to engage in sexual activity with them.

“He then forced them to re-live their ordeal by forcing them to give evidence during a trial – his final act of control.

“Chapman’s abhorrent behaviour has clearly had a significant impact on Chapman’s victims. Now the court process is over I hope they can now begin to rebuild their lives, knowing he will be in prison for a significant period of time.”

Chapman, of Lydgate, Burnley, pleaded not guilty but was eventually found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child following a trial at Preston Crown Court. He was back at court on Wednesday and was jailed for 11 years and three months.