Crime · Oldham.news
Last of five sentenced over Saddleworth Moor torture of Lees woman
After a loan shark gang tortured an Oldham woman on Saddleworth Moor, the last perpetrator, Marshall Atkinson, was sentenced.

Marshall Atkinson, 19, has become the final person to be sentenced after an Oldham woman was tortured and dumped on Saddleworth Moor in what a judge called an "utterly inhumane" ordeal.
The 28-year-old victim was walking along Victoria Street in Lees on January 7, 2025 when she was lured into a house by Kimberley Green, who told her there had been an urgent phone call for her.
Green, 43, had been recruited by local money lender Janzib Rigby. He had previously lent the victim money at extortionate interest rates so she could pay for drugs.
Once inside, the woman was set upon by Rigby, Atkinson, who was 17-years-old at the time, 19-year-old Cody McGiffen and 18-year-old Aaron Cook. The group repeatedly tasered her across her face and body while demanding she pay her debt.
Green then took the woman upstairs, strip-searched her and stole £450 she had been keeping in her underwear.
Police were alerted after the woman called her mother to plead for money in exchange for her freedom. She was then taken to a second property on Wildmoor Avenue before officers could reach the scene. Negotiators were said to have remained with her mother all day.
Hours later, the victim was taken to Saddleworth Moor, where she was kicked out of the car in little clothing while it snowed. Judge Sarah Johnston described the group's actions as "nothing more than sport". The woman was then tasered repeatedly as the group drove around her.
The group was caught after police intercepted the car as it made its way back to Wildmoor Avenue, nearly 12 hours after the ordeal began.
Following his arrest, Atkinson was found to have more than 30 videos of the torture on his phone, along with text messages to other people bragging about what the group was doing.
Speaking at the first sentencing hearing in January, the victim said she had "spiralled out of control" as a result of what happened. She told Manchester Crown Court she had spent three stints in mental health units and suffered from complex PTSD, hallucinations and flashbacks.
"I have tried to take my own life on five occasions. I can honestly say this is directly as a result of what happened to me," she said. "I think about it every day, every hour, every minute, the fear and humiliation that I suffered. I started to self harm. It is the only release I have to take my mind away from what happened."
Judge Johnston said the perpetrators had shown "nothing but contempt" for the woman and described Rigby's remorse as "superficial".
Rigby, of Salisbury Street, Shaw, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, robbery and two counts of kidnapping. He was jailed for eight years and handed a restraining order against the victim.
Green, of Victoria Street, Lees, was found guilty of robbery, kidnapping and two counts of false imprisonment. She was sentenced to five years.
McGiffen, of Lawn Close, Oldham, pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping and was found guilty of two counts of false imprisonment and another of kidnapping. He was given an 18-month community order requiring 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity days, plus a three-year restraining order.
Cook pleaded guilty to using the taser and was found guilty of two counts of false imprisonment and one of kidnap. He was given a one-year youth rehabilitation order.
Atkinson, of Wood Crescent, Oldham, pleaded guilty to two counts of false imprisonment, possession of cannabis and using the taser. He was given a restraining order, and his sentencing was deferred for six months. He has now been sentenced to two years in a young offender institution, suspended for two years, and must undergo drug rehabilitation activity for three months, attend up to 20 days of rehabilitation activities and complete 180 hours of unpaid work.
An order has been made to destroy the cannabis and mobile phone seized by police upon his arrest.