Oliver Thomas Lupton Lane

A man from Wistow near Selby has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for a series of child sex offences, as reported by North Yorkshire Police on 14 March 2025. Oliver Thomas Lupton Lane, 24, of Richmond Hill, Garman Carr Lane, Wistow, Selby, pleaded guilty to 11 out of 18 charges at York Crown Court. The charges included sexual activity with a child, arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, and several counts of making indecent photographs of children.

The court heard that North Yorkshire Police were alerted following a disclosure from a 14-year-old girl who had begun communicating with Lane on Snapchat. The pair met and engaged in sexual activity, with evidence recovered from seized electronic devices confirming the presence of child sexual abuse material involving the victim. Lane was quickly identified as the suspect and arrested, during which officers confiscated several devices from his possession.

• Officers from North Yorkshire Police’s Victim Identification Unit identified two additional children featured in abuse material on Lane’s devices.
• The Digital Forensic Unit repaired and downloaded the victim’s phone, recovering a lengthy Snapchat conversation that demonstrated Lane’s full awareness of the girl’s age.
• Despite this knowledge, Lane groomed her, coerced her into producing explicit photographs and videos, and arranged to meet her for penetrative sexual activity.

Further charges against Lane encompassed engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15, causing or inciting a girl aged 13-15 to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual communications with a child, making indecent images of a child, and blackmail. At the time of his identification, Lane was in his third year of a law degree and had falsely boasted to one of his victims that he was already a lawyer.

Detective Constable Oliver Dalby from York CID commented: “The offences for which Lane has pleaded guilty are wholly reprehensible. He has inflicted such a profound level of emotional trauma upon one of his victims, that she is unsure whether she will ever fully recover.” Dalby further noted Lane’s lack of remorse throughout the investigation and criticised his late guilty plea, which came just before the trial and after one victim had already endured a pre-recorded cross-examination. He praised the victims for their bravery, stating: “I would like to thank the victims in this case for their bravery, trust and patience, it would not have been possible to bring Lane to justice without their co-operation.”

The sentencing took place at York Crown Court, with Lane receiving a term of six years and 10 months. This case underscores the vigilant work of North Yorkshire Police in investigating and prosecuting child sex offences, ensuring perpetrators face significant consequences for their actions.