THE sex pervert jailed for life for killing Bolton vice girl Carly Bateman, aged 17, was obsessed with prostitutes writes Lucie McFall

And the younger the better.

Geoffrey Porter, aged 40, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday when it was revealed he visited vice girls for many years and was a well known figure in the town's red light district.

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Many of the women regarded him as an "oddball".

He fitted the classic sex offender profile. Friends described him as a loner, who they believed felt inadequate. He also had two previous convictions for indecent assault dating back 20 years

He was jailed for six months in 1982 for assaulting an 11-year-old and for 30 months in 1999 for assaulting two girls aged 10 and eight.

Porter was also often drunk when he toured the streets of Bolton looking for vice girls.

The father of two sons he also had a daughter who died at the age of 10.

He had previously held a number of manual jobs including warehouse packer and hotel/kitchen hand.

Porter was born in Wigan and moved to Bolton -- where he worked for various local firms -- as a warehouseman. He rented a flat in Chadwick Street, on the fringe of the red light area, after separating from his wife.

Porter enjoyed the company of the town's vice girls. He paid for sex but also revelled in hanging around them and would often creep up on some of the girls when they were standing on street corners.

One of the girls even moved in to his flat to live with him.

But, although many of the women considered him odd and a "bit of a weirdo", they did not consider him dangerous.

In fact, they used him, by persuading him to drive them around. He even loaned money to some of the women.

But no one knows what turned him into a killer.

The night of the murder was the culmination of a bad week in the life of Geoffrey Porter.

He was thrown out of his flat in Chadwick Street at the end of October when the landlord discovered a prostitute was living with him.

He then spent some nights sleeping in his own car. But things got worse for him when he lost his job.

Five days before Carly Bateman's murder he was stopped by police officers and a 12in carving knife was discovered hidden in his trousers.

He had been assaulted several days before and his face was covered in cuts. He told police he was carrying the knife for protection.

Porter was not one of Carly's regulars.

Her friends say Carly was a very "fiesty" character. One theory is that she may have refused to comply with his wishes, adding to his frustration.

But for whatever reason, he snapped and lost his temper that night.

He strangled her and dragged her body from his car, dumping it in undergrowth where it would not immediately be discovered.