GREENOCK CHILD RAPIST MICHAEL MCNEILL'S SENTENCE REDUCED AFTER APPEAL

In a case that has shocked the community of Greenock, Michael McNeill, a 56-year-old man, has seen a reduction in his prison sentence after a successful appeal. Originally sentenced to 14 years for a series of heinous crimes committed against two young children, his term has now been shortened to 12 years following a review by the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.

McNeill was convicted last August at the High Court in Glasgow of multiple counts of sexual abuse involving a three-year-old girl and her brother, who was also three at the time of the initial offenses. The crimes spanned from 1981 to 1989, with McNeill abusing the children over an extended period. The court heard that the abuse included rape, sexual assault, and making sexual remarks towards the girl, with the incidents occurring between May 1982 and December 1989. The boy was also subjected to sexual abuse, including sodomy, between November 1981 and March 1989.

During the trial, the victims, who are now adults and cannot be publicly identified, provided emotional testimonies about how the abuse had devastated their lives. They described long-lasting effects, including struggles with drug addiction and psychological trauma. The judge, Lord Boyd, expressed his condemnation of McNeill’s actions, stating that he appeared to view the children as “sexual playthings” and highlighted the significant problems they faced as a result of his conduct.

Following the conviction, McNeill was placed on the sex offenders register. The court was told that he had shown no remorse and continued to deny the allegations. The judge emphasized that the crimes had been committed in the 1980s, and since then, McNeill had maintained a clean record, with no further trouble with the law. His defense argued that the passage of time, his age, health issues, and a supportive family should be considered in reducing his sentence.

In the appeal hearing, solicitor advocate Iain Paterson argued that the original sentence was “excessive,” citing the seriousness of the offenses but also noting the time elapsed since the crimes and McNeill’s current low risk of re-offending. Lady Paton, alongside Lord Mackay, agreed that the original sentence was disproportionate and decided to reduce it to 12 years. She acknowledged the horrific nature of the abuse but also considered the long period since the offenses, McNeill’s age, health, and the absence of further criminal activity as factors that lowered the risk of re-offending.

In a related context, the case has brought to light the profound and lasting damage caused by such abuse. The victims’ testimonies revealed how their childhoods were marred by McNeill’s actions, with one victim, now 33, tearfully recounting her ordeal of being raped at the age of three. The other victim, now 34, described how the trauma led him to attempt suicide and become addicted to drugs. The court’s findings underscore the devastating impact of these crimes on the victims’ lives and the community’s ongoing concern about safeguarding children from such predators in Greenock and beyond.