TWO BOOTLE MEN JAILED FOR RAPING SAME GIRL
Two men responsible for multiple rapes of the same young girl have been sentenced to life imprisonment.John McCall, aged 35, and Philip O'Connell, aged 32, who are distant relatives, inflicted a series of brutal sexual assaults on a girl aged between seven and eleven.
During the trial at Liverpool Crown Court, it was revealed that McCall had also assaulted another young girl over a three-month period.
On several occasions, both victims, who were friends, had been present at McCall’s home in Bootle simultaneously.
Prosecutor Janet Reaney explained that the second girl was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital at age ten, where she was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection.
Judge Robert Warnock sentenced the men to indefinite imprisonment for public protection.
He stated, “These crimes were committed against two girls between the ages of seven and 11.
Each act was both a betrayal of trust and an abuse of your greater physical strength.” McCall, of Wadham Road, Bootle, received a minimum term of seven years and two months, while O'Connell, of Daniel Close, Bootle, was sentenced to at least eight and a half years.
O'Connell had denied six charges each of child cruelty and rape but was convicted by a jury after giving testimony.
The judge described O'Connell’s actions as containing “sadism,” noting that he had punched the girl, forced her head underwater, and subjected her to abuse to dominate her during sexual assaults.
Expressing his admiration, Judge Warnock called the girl “simply remarkable” and wished her well.
McCall pleaded guilty to six counts of rape, encouraging a child to perform sexual acts, and six sexual assault charges.
