COLCHESTER SOLDIER SPARED JAIL AFTER ASSAULT AND RACIST SHOUTING
A SERVING soldier who yelled “I could rape you” at a teenage girl after sexually assaulting her in the city centre has been spared jail by magistrates.Liam McInally, 28, groped the girl and then attacked the victim’s friend by throwing her to the floor when she stepped in.
He appeared before Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and was sentenced to a one-year jail term suspended for two years, 300 hours of unpaid work, 40 rehabilitation sessions to address sexual offending, a ten-year sexual harm prevention order, and £814 in costs.
Nishma Shah, prosecuting, told the court the two girls were leaving the McDonald’s in Colchester High Street when McInally followed them towards Red Lion Walk.
He then waited for a group of people to disperse before he approached his victims – who were both under 18 – and called out their names.
Ms Shah said: “It is at this point, when they are alone, that the defendant runs his left hand up one of the girls’ left leg and up to the top of her thigh.” The girl’s friend yelled at McInally and poured a milkshake over his head before he shouted: “I could rape both of you right now”.
A verbal exchanged followed which involved McInally telling the two girls, “I’ve been to war” before one of them slapped him in the face.
The court was shown footage of McInally grabbing the girl’s hair and throwing her to the ground whilst he yelled, “self-defence”.
Ms Shah said: “The defendant then got on the floor, started crying and acting in a distressed state.” Police arrived and arrested McInally and took him to Colchester police station where he read a prepared statement denying allegations of sexual assault.
He continued to deny sexual assault and assault by beating until the day of his trial in December, when he changed his plea and admitted both counts.
Both girls attended the court with their families and gave victim impact statements before magistrates.
McInally, of no fixed abode, sat with his head down for most of the hearing.
The victim of the physical assault said the incident caused her flashbacks and affected her preparing for her A-level exams.
The victim of the sexual assault said her studies had also been hindered and said she felt “constantly felt nervous and scared” that she would encounter McInally again.
Evelyn Hicks, mitigating, said McInally had moved to the south west of England, had left the army, and had taken steps to address his alcohol problems.
