(Image: T&A)
A teenage arsonist who encouraged his friend to set fire to a historic Keighley town centre mill has avoided prison.
Keaton Greenman and McKenzie Mottram were responsible for causing damage estimated at £15 million to Dalton Mills on March 3, 2022.
The pair were convicted of arson after a trial.
Greenman was said to be the principal offender and had led on Mottram, but Mottram had encouraged Greenman by his presence at the mill and his videoing of the fire.
Today, Mottram, now 20, was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court.
The sentencing of Greenman, who also faces being sentenced for three counts of rape, was adjourned to a later date in 2027.
Mottram, said by the judge to have been "led on" by Greenman and who acted impulsively, was handed 18 months in custody suspended for two years.
His Honour Judge Graham Robinson said: "I am satisfied that it was not you who set the fire and it was not you that caused other combustible material to be put on the existing fire set by Keaton Greenman so to increase the potency of the fire."
The fire that ripped through Dalton Mills, Keighley, in 2022
Mottram, formerly of Mexborough Road, Bolton Woods, Bradford, but now living in the Sheffield area, and Greenman, who is in youth custody, were found guilty of arson at Bradford Youth Court in August 2024.
At the time of the mill fire both were aged 15 and were students at Keighley College's pupil referral unit.
On the morning of the fire, they left college and went to the mill, entering through an unsecured window.
Videos downloaded by police from the duo's mobile phones showed them exploring Grade II*-listed Genappe Mill and finding a small fire, which Greenman fed with pieces of a polystyrene gargoyle that may have been left behind by a film crew.
Prosecutor Ian Howard said Greenman could be seen kicking polystyrene towards the fire to feed it once it had been lit.
The resulting devastating blaze, which quickly spread through the building, involved 20 fire engines ― described as "half the available fleet" for the locality plus others from other areas ― and other specialist equipment, and needed firefighters on site for three days.
The result was that, after the fire quickly took hold, the whole building was engulfed and the entire second floor collapsed.
Mr Howard said: "The building was gutted."
Two tenants on site were said to have suffered losses totalling £130,000. The cost of repairs to the mill building was estimated at £15 million.
In interviews both Greenman and Mottram gave "no comment" answers. In a second interview Mottram said he had initially put out the fire and that had he known the fire was going to be set he would never have entered the building.
Mr Howard said Mottram had been recording Greenman ― who he described as "the principal offender" ― on his phone and can be seen running off just after Greenman kicked the polystyrene into the fire.
The court heard that by Mottram's presence and his videoing he was encouraging Greenman.
Mitigating, Verity Barnes said Mottram's young age at the time, a diagnosis of ADHD, and an assessment of PTSD due to childhood trauma had led to impulsivity as "an abnormally suggestible individual".
The court heard that, in the intervening years, he had matured and was "very much a reformed character".
She said he had trained as a joiner, had moved from the area to Sheffield, was a father of one child with another on the way, and was classed as being of a low risk of re-offending.
Commenting on the estimated £15 million damage to the mill, Judge Robinson said buildings such as Dalton Mills were "historically important" as part of the heritage of Keighley and the wider Bradford district and were "a distinctive element" of the industrial landscape.
The court heard that no pre-sentence report was available for Greenman, who also faces being sentenced for three counts of rape against the same victim after being convicted in August this year following a trial at Bradford Crown Court.
The 19-year-old, formerly of Shelby Grange, Shipley, faced four counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault dating back to 2024.
He was acquitted by a jury of one count of rape and all charges of sexual assault.
Mottram has had to wait until all separate matters against Greenman were dealt with before his arson sentencing could take place.
His Honour Judge Graham Robinson told the rape victim, who was observing via video link: "You can test assured that Mr Greenman will be receiving a substantial custodial sentence in due course."
He said a pre-sentence report would consider the issue of dangerousness.