Paedophile, 66, raped abducted 12-year-old girl and police fear he has more victims

A paedophile pensioner who “may have other victims” faces dying behind bars after he abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl. Dinato Rizzi, 66, has been jailed for 20 years for his sickening attacks on the schoolgirl perpetrated in his own home in Leicester. The girl’s mother discovered predatory Rizzi after she uncovered messages from the pervert to her daughter online. The distraught mother took screenshots of the online chats to Leicestershire Police who launched an investigation, Leicestershire Live reports.

Detectives from the force's child sexual exploitation team investigated and subsequently arrested Rizzi and later charged him with a number of crimes against the child.

Rizzi, of New Romney Crescent, Leics, was found guilty of 13 offences between December 2021 and January 27, 2022, following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court and was sentenced on Friday, October 21. He was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Rizzi’s charges included four counts of rape of a child under 13 and two counts under the Child Abduction Act, namely taking a child so as to keep her from a person having lawful control.

Speaking after sentencing Detective Constable Sue Cockerill said officers uncovered messages exchanged between the two where Rizzi, who is known locally as Dean or Deano, acknowledged the girl was under 16 and how he would cover his tracks if he got caught.

Detectives are still investigating Rizzi and suspect he could have other victims.

Det con Cockerill said devices recovered from his home are being investigated and police suspect he may have been in contact with other girls.

She said: “Rizzi claimed that he didn't know that the girl was under 18, a claim which is completely absurd. Anyone who takes one look at this young girl can see she is that – a young girl who doesn’t even look like she could be 16 years old let alone 18.

“She told him her real age and this man simply chose to ignore it, sexually exploiting her and taking advantage of her vulnerabilities for his own perverted gratification.

“This young girl and her family have been through a terrible ordeal.

"She has been exceptionally brave in recalling her interactions with Rizzi. I hope now, finally, she and her family can start to rebuild their lives and move past what has happened.

“I would like to thank Claire Fraser KC and Sarah Holland from the Crown Prosecution Service for their significant hard work and commitment in bringing this case before the court and securing a conviction against Rizzi.

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“We are continuing our investigation into Rizzi which includes the examination of devices recovered from his home.

"We suspect that he may have been in contact with other girls and could well have committed sexual offences against others.

“I would therefore urge anyone who may have been a victim to please contact us. We have officers who are trained to speak sensitively to children who may have been victims of similar offences.”

The young victim's mother has shared the impact of the offences on her daughter in a statement, which she said will affect her for the rest of her life.

The mum said: “She should be at a point in her life where she is looking forward to her future but she feels she doesn’t have one.

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"She can’t see her friends as much and her schoolwork has suffered massively. Her social development has suffered in many ways as well and she continues to sleep in my room at night," she said.

Detective Inspector Gary Bee, who leads the force’s exploitation team, said: “This case highlights the dangers that can lurk online and the sophisticated methods that sexual perpetrators use to exploit young and vulnerable children.

“It’s a timely reminder to all parents to ensure that they have safeguards in place at home to understand their children’s use of the internet and social media.

“Rizzi’s level of offending against such a young child is particularly concerning and I would urge anybody with any concerns around historic or ongoing abuse by him to contact Leicestershire Police, your concerns will be dealt with confidentially and by specially trained officers.”