Downpatrick man jailed for 19 years after raping girl

Downpatrick man jailed for 19 years after raping girl

16 November 2022

A DOWNPATRICK man who repeatedly raped a schoolgirl in the north west of England has been jailed for 19 years.

David Joseph McMullan (32), of Demesne View, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, after pleading guilty to four counts of rape of a child under 16. He was also handed a sexual harm prevention order for life.

McMullan was described by the sentencing judge as a dangerous offender.

McMullan was arrested in Northern Ireland in March this year, and was later charged with multiple offences which occurred in Wirral, Merseyside, between 2019 and 2021.

The investigation was launched when his victim reported to police that McMullan groomed and raped her.

The court was told his grooming behaviour included emotional blackmail and demanding the girl send him explicit photographs of herself.

McMulllan initially claimed in their Snapchat conversations that he was 16 and used to turn his phone off during the day, maintaining the fiction he was at school.

He later said he was 19, even though he was 30 when he travelled over from Northern Ireland in March 2020 to meet up with the girl, who was 12, for the first time.

Prosecution barrister Frank Dillon said: “By the use of emotional blackmail, including fierce expressions of jealousy, and threats he was able to manipulate the young, impressionable girl into doing his bidding, a process which culminated in him sexually abusing her.

“There is evidence in this case to the effect that the defendant made threats to her that he would forward the images/videos of her to all her contacts should she not comply with his requests.

“He also made numerous threats to end his life should she tell anyone about them or not comply with his requests. He manipulated her to the extent that her relationship with her family suffered.”

The girl’s mother said in an impact statement how her daughter had been affected “physically, mentally and emotionally” and she was fearful about her future.

Defence barrister Fionna McNeill said McMullan had no previous convictions and will spend his middle age in prison.

She said that when released he will have to “make great efforts” to lead a normal life.

She added that McMullan accepted the impact of his offending.

Judge Stuart Driver told McMullan: “Over a period approaching two years you groomed, exploited and then 

repeatedly raped a young girl.” 

He said that she had been particularly vulnerable, being just 12 when he began grooming her and only 13 when he first raped her.

The judge said McMullan’s offending had caused the girl and her family severe psychological damage and reports about him “paint a worrying picture of your personality”.

McMullan, who appeared via video link from prison, will have to serve two thirds of the 19-year term before he can apply for parole.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Jennifer Davies, who led the investigation, said: “First and foremost, I’d like to highlight the strength of the victim, both in coming forward to report McMullan’s heinous crimes, and then throughout an arduous judicial process.

“Her determination and bravery has ensured that McMullan will now serve a significant time behind bars.

“No sentence can repair the devastating damage that McMullan’s abuse has caused and continues to cause to the life of his victim. But we hope that by seeing him face justice today will allow her some form of closure and begin to move on with her life in the knowledge that he cannot harm anybody else.”

The officer added: “This was a long and complex investigation, and we’d also like to thank the CPS for the excellent advice given during the investigation, which took us to this successful conclusion.

“The Police Service Northern Ireland [PSNI] have also provided massive assistance throughout the investigation, and it shows how important it is that police forces work together across borders to bring criminals to justice.”

Wendy Scott, a specialist prosecutor with CPS Mersey-Cheshire’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) unit, said: “David McMullan is a predatory paedophile who is now, thankfully, 

behind bars.

“The Crown Prosecution Service’s work to bring him to justice followed a complex and extensive investigation by Merseyside Police.

“McMullan groomed his victim and met with her a number of times before the offences took place. Whatever he told his victim was happening, it was abuse and the violation of a child.”

She added: “People like McMullan have no thought for the feelings of the person they are abusing. They are merely a means to an end.

“But their actions can affect the victim for the rest of their lives. The CPS would not have been able to bring this prosecution without the courage and bravery of this victim to report what had happened to her and give evidence.”