He was banned from Baguley, then he stalked the dark corners under the Mancunian Way

A vile predator who was banned from Baguley after exposing himself to schoolgirls failed to learn his lesson - and found himself behind bars.

Robert Emmerson, 40, was snapped outside Manchester Crown Court in 2015 after a judge let him walk free - but not before banning him from an entire south Manchester neighbourhood.

Nearly a decade later, Emmerson stood before judge again as jurors announced their unanimous decision to convict him of a string of sex attacks. The depraved pervert who was barred from Baguley repeated his sickening acts under the Mancunian Way, and now faces a lengthy jail sentence.

READ MORE:The Manchester Arena bomb conspiracy theorist who spouted 'false allegations' for 'commercial gain'

He was found guilty of five counts of sexual assault and seven counts of exposure, all but two of which took place in the shady underpass under one of the city's main arteries.

Emmerson first came under the glare of the court after he 'frightened' four victims, aged 14 and 15, with a 'piercing stare'. Working in a bargain store in Wythenshawe at the time, he lay in wait along the route the girls took to school.

Emmerson would pretend to urinate against a wall, and even hide in bushes in order to stare at the schoolchildren as they walked. He also exposed himself to two of the victims - one of whom was left ‘seriously upset’ by her ordeal. He would sometimes 'tut' at the girls while lowering his trousers.

In the courtroom, the then 30-year-old's defence barrister Mike Brady said the behaviour was ‘out of character’. He told the court Emmerson had learning difficulties, fell seriously ill with meningitis and hydrocephalus the year before and ‘would not cope easily with the rigours of prison’.

Mr Brady also reassured the courts Emmerson would 'not trouble' them again - nor schoolgirls across the city. “This has been a very real lesson for him, whatever he says about being not guilty, the whole process has been remarkably difficult for him, a fact that will perhaps guard against any further repetition of such conduct," he said.

Emmerson was able to walk free, sentenced for two years, suspended for 18 months, with 200 hours unpaid work, Judge Martin Steiger QC made Emmerson subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning him from Butcher Lane, Sandy Lane, Timpson Road and Churchstoke Walk, Wythenshawe.

But in 2023, police became aware of a series of sex attacks taking place in the underpass underneath the Mancunian Way which appeared to follow a 'pattern'. Victims claimed the perpetrator, who was then unknown, would sometimes expose himself to them. In some cases they said he had grabbed them from behind in a 'bear hug' and tackled them to the ground. Many of the victims - who were university students walking to lectures - described him as 'smiling' as he violated them.

At the same time, two reports from Wythenshawe came of a man exposing himself to two schoolgirls.

In April of this year, detectives were able to use CCTV to trace the movements of a suspect. What they found led them straight to Emmerson.

He was arrested on April 22 at his ex-partner's house in Wythenshawe. Five victims positively identified Emmerson from an ID parade, and he was charged with five counts of sexual assault and seven counts of exposure - all of which he denied.

Opening the trial on Monday (October 14), prosecutor Emma Kehoe KC said police had received a number of reports of sex offences that had been committed in the murky shadows of the underpass near the Manchester Metropolitan University, all of which appeared to be 'linked'.

"How the attacker would lie in wait on the path and how the attacker would masturbate or touch his genitals, or in some cases grabbing them [complainants] in a bear hug and pulling them to the floor with his penis up against them," she said. "In some cases he groped their vaginas through clothing."

Ms Kehoe told jurors how multiple victims described the male as 'laughing', 'smiling', and 'making noises to suggest he was enjoying himself' as they screamed while he 'pinned them down' or 'lifted them up' and touched them sexually. All the victims were able to run away and reported the incident to the police, the court heard.

The court heard how Emmerson was eventually tracked down by police after the 'quick reports' of two alleged assaults on April 15, 2024.

Sitting in the dock during the eight-day long trial, Emmerson opted not to give evidence himself. But a jury saw through his denial, and on Wednesday (October 23) unanimously convicted him of all offences after deliberating for about an hour. He will be sentenced next month.

After the hearing, Alex Mann, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "Emmerson is a sexual predator who targeted women and girls in broad daylight. His depraved actions were carried out solely for his own sexual gratification and have had a severe impact on those he attacked.

"Emmerson showed no remorse, denying the offences and putting victims through the further trauma of having to relive their ordeal when giving evidence against him at a trial. I would like to thank the young women for reporting Emmerson and helping the Crown Prosecution Service and Greater Manchester Police to bring him to justice."