Filthy house of evil rapist who filmed perverted assaults with spy pens disgusts hardened cops

A dirty mattress covers the floor of a filthy living room with bright purple walls. Pillows are scattered around the filthy room and trash surrounds a space that is clearly being used as a makeshift bed.

At the foot of an armchair lies a duvet, with a frightened woman – malnourished and pale – hidden beneath the dirt-covered cover. This horrifying image is at the centre of a truly horrific case at Manchester Crown Court, which has now become public knowledge as the perpetrator is finally behind bars.

Rapist Nicholas Moxham, 52, from Stockport, lured women into sex work before filming his sickening attacks using hidden cameras in pens. Some of his victims were unconscious during his gruesome assaults. Police initially arrested him on suspicion of voyeurism at his Stockport home, unaware of the depths of depravity they would uncover. Following a trial at Manchester Crown Court, Moxham was found guilty of numerous crimes – including rape, controlling prostitution for remuneration, forcing forced or compulsory labour and voyeurism.

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He faces a lengthy prison sentence, which is due to be imposed next month. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Detective Sergeant Lee Attenborough recounted the harrowing case and the suffering of the women Moxham exploited and abused, describing it as the most disturbing case he had seen in his 17-year career as a GMP.

The investigation into Moxham’s activities began with “tiny pieces of information” passed on by his neighbours, who were concerned about his behaviour and the frequent visits of numerous women. Manchester Action for Street Health and other organisations had also received reports from sex workers expressing their discomfort with a man they knew as “Nick”.

“They weren’t happy with the way he presented himself and the way he treated the women,” DS Attenborough explained. “Combining these two cases was actually the start of the investigation. We didn’t know how big it would get.”

By this time, police were aware that Moxham had been secretly filming people. This was enough to obtain a search warrant for his home. In the filthy living room of his Heaton Chapel home, they discovered a terrified, malnourished woman hidden under a duvet. She was immediately taken away to assist specialist officers while detectives searched Moxham’s property.

When police arrived, Moxham had thrown a hard drive out of his bedroom window in a desperate attempt to destroy evidence. Officers later discovered numerous storage devices and peephole cameras.

“It took us several months to sort through and examine everything,” admitted DS Attenborough. “It was really difficult for the investigation team. The contents of his devices were deeply disturbing. There were lots of photos, lots of videos, lots of them of a sexual nature. He was interested in some pretty specific sexual perversions. He regularly visited the dark web. It was quite a marathon for the investigation team to go through this material.”

The woman discovered in the house was the first of six victims discovered by police, each of whom struggled with complex vulnerabilities.

“They were sex workers,” revealed DS Attenborough. “Many of them had been addicted to drugs and alcohol for years and many of them were homeless. They were in really difficult circumstances which made them perfect opportunities for exploitation. It was precisely these vulnerabilities that Nicholas Moxham tried to exploit. I’m very pleased to say that each time we were able to get them out of these situations and make a significant improvement in their lives.”

Officers were able to identify potential victims before locating them and build a relationship with them so that they gradually felt comfortable recounting the details of their ordeals.

“This has been carried out over a number of years. It has been difficult but comprehensive efforts have been made,” added DS Attenborough. Moxham remained uncooperative and denied any wrongdoing. DS Attenborough added: “He is a very manipulative individual – very controlling – and at every stage has tried to deflect blame from himself and has actually tried to blame his victims and portray him as a victim of what has happened, which is just absurd.”

DS Attenborough described Moxham’s crimes as “well planned and meticulous” and stressed that the Covid-19 pandemic provided him with the perfect storm to exploit vulnerable sex workers. “This meant that sex workers who would normally have been able to earn money through sex work on the streets of Manchester were unable to do so,” he said.

“They had no place to stay, they had to finance their drug use, they were really in dire straits and Moxham saw that situation getting worse and offered himself as a kind of knight in shining armour … and offered them incentives by offering them a place to stay, money and drugs.”

He added: “It is quite easy to understand why many of these women thought this was fantastic at first, but it didn’t take long for them to realise that things were not as they seemed and that Moxham was not there to help them at all. He was there to exploit them and for his own sexual perversions. It is unprecedented in terms of the seriousness of the offence; the sheer number of offences; the fact that there are so many complainants; and the multi-year time period speaks to the depravity of his behaviour. I have spent much of my career investigating serious crime and have been with Greater Manchester Police for 17 years and I have never come across anything so disturbing or of this magnitude.”

During the intense five-week trial, jurors were presented with pre-recorded evidence and cross-examination of Moxham’s victims. DS Attenborough commented on his lack of remorse, saying: “He showed ‘absolutely no remorse or responsibility’.” Thankfully, the women are now on the road to recovery and are making progress with each passing day.

DS Attenborough highlights crimes that lurk in the shadows, often right under our noses, saying: “This is a prime example of that – on the surface, Moxham was a respectable, honourable member of the community… a business owner, well educated, eloquent in his speech, he could be quite charming and engaging, and he lived on a perfectly ordinary suburban street. Yet these kinds of crimes took place behind closed doors, in close proximity to neighbours, families and young children, for quite some time before they came to the attention of the police.”

Moxham, who lived alone on Briarfield Road, had unsuspecting families and elderly neighbors nearby.

DS Attenborough stressed the crucial role the community played in bringing Moxham to justice, adding: “Without the support of the community who lived around him and the fact that they made their concerns known to the police, we may never have known what was going on there.”

It was revealed that Moxham secretly filmed many of the women using sophisticated equipment, including cameras disguised as pens, after inviting them to his home. A number of disturbing videos showed him raping or sexually assaulting women. DS Attenborough said: “He enjoyed recording sexual acts to watch later,” adding: “But in many cases the people being filmed were unaware they were being filmed and had not consented to it.”

Moxham was found guilty of 32 counts, including six counts of rape, six counts of controlling prostitution for profit, 13 counts of voyeurism, three counts of forced labor, three counts of assault and one count of attempted rape. His sentencing is scheduled for July 12.

DS Attenborough urged: “If you are a victim of crime, please come forward, speak to us. We are very experienced specialist officers waiting to support you. We will listen to you.” He reassured victims, saying: “What you tell us will be fully investigated. Greater Manchester Police does not work alone, we have a whole range of partner agencies that help victims of crime, particularly victims of sexual crime. Please come forward and tell us about your experiences. We will help and support you.”