MICHAEL HEFFERNAN'S SHOCKING CRIMES IN BURNLEY: VICTIMS AND VIOLATIONS REVEALED

On May 2nd, in Burnley, a disturbing case involving Michael Heffernan, a man with a long history of sexual offenses, reached a new level of severity as he was sentenced to an additional 12 months in prison for breaching a sexual harm prevention order by attempting to contact two young women he had previously victimized.

Heffernan, aged 66, a former youth worker with a notorious past, had already been convicted of multiple sexual offenses against minors. His criminal history includes an eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence handed down in 2014 for sexually assaulting a young girl, along with a series of other convictions related to his inappropriate conduct towards minors in Burnley.

His legal troubles began in 2011 when he was sentenced to 16 months for sending sexually explicit messages to a girl who was only 12 years old at the time. This initial conviction led to the imposition of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, which explicitly prohibited him from contacting or approaching the victims or their families. Despite these restrictions, Heffernan continued to breach the order, leading to further convictions and extended monitoring.

In November of the previous year, authorities received reports that Heffernan had come into contact with the two sisters, now in their twenties, in Burnley. The first victim, who was 12 when Heffernan assaulted her in 2011, believed she was in a romantic relationship with him and even sent semi-naked photographs to him after a recent encounter. Her younger sister, the second victim, along with their mother, also attempted to contact Heffernan through text messages and a fake Facebook account, which Heffernan claimed was set up by one of the girls.

Prosecutor Niamh McGinty detailed the disturbing interactions, stating, “From January to March 2011, the defendant sent a number of sexually explicit texts to a 12-year-old girl and was jailed for 16 months and handed a sexual harm prevention order, which banned him from contacting his victim. Then in 2014, he was sentenced for eight and a half years for assaulting the first victim’s younger sister. A restraining order was also made in relation to the sisters.”

Further investigations revealed that on December 7, police visited Heffernan’s residence after being alerted by a concerned member of the public, a former officer, who had observed suspicious behavior towards the victims and their mother. During the search, officers discovered two mobile phones containing messages from the victims and their mother, saved under the name ‘my beautiful girl,’ along with screenshots of the first victim in her underwear. Additionally, Heffernan was found to be using social media accounts under aliases such as John White on Facebook and Snapchat to maintain contact with the sisters.

Despite the evidence, some of the victims expressed conflicting feelings about the case. They appeared to have been groomed by Heffernan, with one even indicating a desire to rekindle a relationship with him. The victims and their mother sought to modify the existing notification requirements, which prompted the court to consider the implications of their wishes.

Judge Medland, addressing the court, emphasized the seriousness of Heffernan’s actions, stating, “This man is very much older than her and has offended against her and her sister. She is not a child anymore, but she is still a vulnerable woman. These women were victims of prolonged grooming by the defendant despite them being now adults.”

Heffernan’s defense attorney, John Woodward, argued that his client had been in custody for some time and could not have groomed anyone while incarcerated. He claimed that since his release in 2019, Heffernan had only encountered his first victim in Burnley town center and that no new harm had been committed. He also asserted that Heffernan had pleaded guilty early on and had not engaged in any harmful behavior beyond the victims.

However, Judge Medland was unpersuaded, asserting that the orders in place serve to protect individuals from potential harm, regardless of the victims’ current age or capacity to consent. The judge stated, “The order was there to protect someone he previously abused, someone whose view of the world and him is likely to be confused. I have to approach this on the basis that the order is there to protect the victim.”

Heffernan pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching the sexual harm prevention order and two counts of breaching notification requirements. Consequently, he was sentenced to an additional 12 months in prison, underscoring the court’s stance on safeguarding vulnerable individuals from repeat offenders and breaches of court orders.