Kilmore man (44) jailed for sex assaults against nine teenage girls

Kilmore man (44) jailed for sex assaults against nine teenage girls

11 December 2024

A KILMORE man, who committed sexual offences against nine teenage girls, has been given a three-year jail sentence.

Neil Beckett (44) committed the offences while he was a former school health and welfare officer and Army Cadet leader.

Beckett appeared at Belfast Crown Court on Friday.

Parents of his victims sat in the public gallery as he was sentenced by Judge Philip Gilpin.

The sentence was divided equally between 18 months in prison followed by 18 months on supervised licence.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period and was made the subject of a five year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

The charges relate to seven pupils at Lagan College school in south Belfast and two Army Cadets.

All the teenage victims were targeted by Beckett whilst he held a position of authority.

Passing sentence, Judge Gilpin told Beckett his offending was protracted and committed against vulnerable victims.

The father-of-one stood trial earlier this year on a total of 29 charges against 11 complainants which he denied.

These charges consisted of one count of rape, one count of sexual communication with a child, one count of sexual grooming and 26 counts of sexual assault.

At the conclusion of the five-week trial, the jury deliberated for two days before returning unanimous guilty verdicts on one count of sexual grooming and 16 counts of sexual assault which were committed between December 2015 and February 2023.

Beckett was acquitted of raping and sexually assaulting an Army Cadet, but was convicted of sexually grooming her.

He was also convicted of sexually abusing a second Army Cadet by hugging, kissing and tickling her.

Regarding the Lagan College pupils, Beckett was convicted of sexually abusing seven pupils and cleared of offences against a further two complainants.

The abuse the teenage girls endured consisted of Beckett hugging, kissing and tickling them whilst in his position of power within the school and of touching some of the girls thighs under their skirts.

Judge Gilpin said there were a number of aggravating factors in the case, including the abuse of trust shown by Beckett, the vulnerability of his victims, the number of offences and that the offending continued to take place after Beckett had been warned about his behaviour.

He said a community-based sentence could not be justified owing to the seriousness of the offences.

The judge told Beckett: “In relation to the various acts – whether they be hugging, touching, kissing, tickling or rubbing – it is important to remember in this sentencing exercise that there was more to what you did than just these physical acts.

“The jury were satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that when you acted as they found you did, on each of those occasions you did so for sexual purposes.”

The judge said it was clear that Beckett’s offending had affected all those he abused.

He said that while some victims spoke of the emotional impact the offending had upon them, others said it left them struggling to cope with everyday life.

Judge Gilpin said that despite being questioned by police in July 2020 regarding his conduct with the Army Cadets, Beckett continued his criminality by abusing pupils at Lagan College after he took up his position within the school in June 2021.

The judge also noted that despite being spoken to by the school principal in October 2022 after complaints were made, Beckett continued abusing girls and was ultimately suspended in January 2023.

Following his trial and convictions Beckett was dismissed from his role as Lagan College’s health and welfare officer by the school’s board of governors.

Outside the court, PSNI Detective Inspector Noelle Gray said the victims in the case “should be so proud of themselves”.

She continued: ”Ending violence against women and girls is very much in the forefront of policing at the moment. This case highlights that because all our victims are girls.”

She said there were a number of delays in the case as “the criminal justice system can be slow but we are working to try to speed that up”.

Detective Inspector Gray also said there were a number of victims who police spoke to who chose not to engage “whether through their own vulnerabilities or just not feeling comfortable”.

She added: ”We have to be victim-focused and go by what the victim wants.”

A spokesperson for Lagan College said the school “wishes to acknowledge the courage and bravery of the young people who came forward to their 

parents and our Child Protection and Safeguarding team.”

The spokesperson said the school had “fully engaged with the PSNI, the Children and Young People’s Service at the EA [Education Authority] and the Public Prosecution Service, outlining how policies and procedures were followed in relation to this serious safeguarding matter”.