A Banbridge teenager, who raped a 13-year-old girl close to a caravan park in Cranfield, has walked free from court.
Eighteen-year-old Shea McArdle, from Drone Hill Road – who was 15 at the time of the offence – was today sentenced for a single count of rape which happened in a field near a caravan park at Cranfield on Saturday, June 11, 2022.
McArdle, appearing at Newry Crown Court on Tuesday, was sentenced as a youth but can be identified as he has since turned 18.
His Honour Judge Paul Ramsey outlined the facts of the case during his sentencing remarks.
It was heard that shortly after 1pm on Sunday, June 12 police received a 999 call relating to an incident in the Cranfield area.
The caller reported that his 13-year-old daughter had been sexually assaulted.
Police attended the caravan site and spoke to the victim who said that at about 11pm the evening prior, a boy – not known her at the time – called over, “pushed her down a road away from her friends, and proceeded to sexually assault her”.
Judge Ramsey added: “He’s kissed her, grabbed her by the bottom, pulled her trousers down, pushed her to the ground and [carried out the act].”
The court then heard how the victim managed to get away whilst McArdle was on the ground, making her way back to her friend.
Her father arrived shortly thereafter and she told him about the incident.
As a result, her father and a group of friends then made their way to the caravan of the defendant, and requested to speak to him.
The female owner of the caravan suggested police be contacted to sort the matter out.
McArdle was arrested but denied the allegations – and continued to deny the allegations before eventually entering a guilty plea.
Judge Ramsey reference a pre-sentence report where it was said McArdle’s time in education was “unproblematic until this particular matter arose”.
“He elected not to return to school to complete his final GCSE year and continued working on the local farm,” said the judge.
The judge remarked that during McArdle’s meetings with Probation he denied being the instigator and was seen by the Probation Officer as “a young man with sexual entitlement beliefs”.
The report suggested that the defendant, in terms of intellectual ability, was among the bottom 4% of the general population in his age range.
A psychometric test also revealed that he was “an impulsive individual who took risks”, however, he did demonstrate “a capacity to experience shame and reflect on his own moral code, but his emotional moral development is immature for his age, and he struggles to grasp abstract concepts such as consent”.
Turning to a Victim Impact Report, Judge Ramsey continued: “[The victim] remembers it every day without fail. She has a constant bad image of herself. She struggles to sleep. School is difficult for her. She has bad nights, having flashbacks. She’s tired. She can’t concentrate for long on school because her head is very full.
“She actually, at one stage, made an attempt on her life. She has a hard time making friendships and communicating how she feels. She suffers from panic attacks. She self harms, but she’s been attending Nexus for six months, and she still goes to therapy at CAMHS. She takes medication for depression and anxiety.”
Her mother described her daughter as being “vivacious, happy, enthusiastic as a child, and that [the incident] has stripped of all those qualities from her”.
“Her mother has spent endless nights sleeping in her bed to ensure her safety.”
The court heard that the family have been forced to sell their caravan – “a safe place” – as “it’s no longer a place we wanted to be…their happy memories have been taken away”.
Her dad says his daughter “used to be happy all the time; she used to sing around the house. Now there are periods where she spends all day in the bedroom, not communicating….he’s felt like he’s lost his daughter…”
Judge Ramsey said had McArdle contested the charge and been found guilty it would have resulted in a custodial sentence of between three and four years.
However, given his guilty plea, the fact he was a child at the time and his lack of maturity, McArdle was handed a 30-month custodial sentence but suspended for a period of three years.
He was also handed a Sexual Offences Protection Order for five years and will be on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.
