Police are hunting a convicted sex offender who fled court moments before being found guilty of raping a child.
Tariq Javed, 38, of Aspinall Street, Rusholme, absconded from Minshull Street Crown Court on 29 February 2016 while the jury were deliberating their verdict.
He was found guilty, in his absence, of eight counts of sexual activity with a child under the age 13.
A sentence date was fixed for 21st March 2016 and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
He is known to have links to the Stockport and Manchester areas of Greater Manchester.
Detective Inspector Ian Cottrell said: “Javed has been convicted of incredibly serious offences committed against children.
“He is thought to be a flight risk and warnings have been put in place at ports and airports to ensure he does not escape the country, but faces punishment for his atrocious crimes.
“I would like to make very clear that anyone found to be sheltering Javed will face arrest and prosecution.”
Anyone with information of Javed’s whereabouts is asked to call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800
