Det Con Andrea Richards paid tribute and thanked all of the male survivors who came forward and shared their experiences.
“I want to make clear, none of the male survivors should feel they have to carry the shame or guilt in this case, it is not theirs to carry,” she added.
“I hope that they all feel that they have finally got some justice.”
District Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West’s rape and serious sexual offence unit, Wendy Chappell, said: “Marsh conducted a vile campaign of sexual abuse on children as young as nine, while Whitehead sexually abused a fourteen-year-old boy.
“They acted solely for their own self-gratification, with no thought for the life-changing trauma their abuse would cause.”
Assistant Chief Constable Steph Parker said the investigation was a “telling demonstration of how GMP does not allow the passage of time to be a barrier to justice”.
Marsh, of Northenden, and Whitehead, of Atherton, will be sentenced on 27 November.
