Derry man who raped and sexually assaulted 16-year-old schoolgirl jailed

A twenty years old man who pleaded guilty to raping and sexually assaulting a sixteen years old schoolgirl in a car park in Magherafelt in January 2022, has been jailed for five years at the Crown Court in Derry.

Sean Paul O'Neill, whose address was given as Bonds Hill in the Waterside area of Derry was also placed on the Sex Offender's Register for an indefinite period and will be subject to the terms of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for ten years.

The court was told that O'Neill, who had twenty-eight previous criminal convictions, had endured what Judge Neil Rafferty K.C. described as a harrowing childhood background.

When O'Neill was a six month old baby his father died by suicide. When he was seven years of age his mother died by suicide. He did not realise until his mid teens that his foster parents were not his biological parents nor was he aware until then that he had five biological siblings, three of whom have died by suicide.

Judge Rafferty said that O'Neill, who has suicidal ideations, had "a harrowing childhood upbringing".

He also said that the rape ordeal O'Neill had subjected his victim to was harrowing. Judge Rafferty said on the evening of January 2, 2022, the victim reported to members of a neighbourhood police patrol that she'd been raped by O'Neill in a car park at King's Street in Magherafelt.

Prior to the rape she had asked O'Neill, who was unknown to her, to buy her some alcohol which she consumed. He then followed her into the car park, pulled her by the hair, forced her to her knees and orally raped her, ejaculating into her mouth. He then pulled down her trousers and underwear and indecently assaulted her. O'Neill was carrying a knife at the time but did not use it to threaten  his victim.

In her personal statement the victim, who was not in court for the sentencing hearing, said she spent thirty months in psychiatric hospital following her ordeal. She panics around male strangers, still has nightmares about what happened and cannot consume food such as custard or yogurt as a result of what happened to her.

"She has shown considerable bravery in writing her personal statement. What happened to her was a crime. She is totally blameless and the defendant should carry all the shame and responsibility for that crime", Judge Rafferty said.

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"I am absolutely satisfied that on that evening the defendant left his flat after an argument with his sister, took drugs and alcohol and in that context committed a sexual assault on a young lady who was vulnerable and alone", he added.

Judge Rafferty said if he was dealing with an adult offender the sentence would be in double digits. He said in deciding on a five year jail term he took into consideration the defendant's immaturity at the time, his harrowing childhood experiences, his pleas of guilty and the fact that he was remorseful and showed victim empathy. He said in imposing the S.O.P.O., he believed it was "absolutely vital in this case".