Scott West could spend the rest of his life behind bars
18:27, 27 Jun 2025Updated 18:42, 27 Jun 2025
Scott West(Image: GMP)
A Salford man could spend the rest of his life in a federal prison after admitting child sex offences in the US. Scott West has been jailed for 42 years after a court in Illinois convicted him of three counts of sexual exploitation of a child.
The 40-year-old, a former worker at a Christian charity, was extradited to the States following a joint operation between the US Secret Service and Greater Manchester Police.
The international investigation found West and an un-named accomplice manipulated young boys into sending them sexually explicit photos.
It came after the pair created fake social media accounts pretending to be women, specifically for the purpose of contacting and tricking underage boys.
When they responded West, of Shakespeare Crescent, Eccles, would threaten to expose them unless they sent more images. The United States Attorney’s Office said West ‘knowingly solicit[ed] sexually explicit photos from underage boys in multiple different countries’.
Several of the children he contacted were in central Illinois. At the time of the offences, West was reportedly working as a part-time website developer for Christian charity Gochurch Global in Salford Quays.
He was suspended after he was arrested when police raided his home in May 2019, the Sunday Express earlier reported.
Speaking in September last year, GoChurch founding partner and trustee Alan Morton, said: “As soon as we were made aware of the allegations, Mr West was suspended and removed from all positions of responsibility.
“His employment did not involve direct contact with children, youth or vulnerable adults without direct parental or team leader supervision.”
At a court hearing Springfield, U.S. Chief District Judge Sara Darrow found the offence involved the ‘knowing misrepresentation of a participant’s identity to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct’. West pleaded guilty in January.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Seberger said: “West manipulated and preyed upon children on two continents in his quest to fulfil his own sexual desires. This extradition and sentence ensured that his American victims received justice in the United States for his crimes.
“We will continue to work with law enforcement across the globe to bring justice to victims of abuse.”
Michael Kurzeja, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service Springfield office, added: “Adults should protect children, not prey upon them online as the predator in this case did to victims in multiple countries. The sentencing in this case reflects the heinousness of this man’s insidious actions to threaten and harm kids.”