OLDHAM MAN JAILED FOR HISTORIC CHILD SEX OFFENCES
A man has been sentenced to prison for the historic sexual assault of a six-year-old girl he was babysitting during his teenage years.Thomas Nulty was a teenager at the time he committed the sexual assault while the girl slept in her bed.
His horrifying offense went unpunished for nearly five decades after he threatened to kill her mother if she revealed what had happened.
Now aged 64 and residing in Oldham, Nulty was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after the victim, deeply traumatized, reported him to authorities.
Following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court, Nulty was found guilty of rape.
He also received additional prison time for five counts of sexual assault involving two other victims, one of whom was an eight-year-old boy.
Nulty, who lives on Huddersfield Road, had previously served a five-year sentence in 1995 for the indecent assault of a 12-year-old girl and a young woman.
His earlier crimes only came to light when his now-adult victim reported him to police in April 2018.
The offending took place in the early 1970s in Merseyside.
During a moving victim impact statement, the woman, seated in the courtroom’s public gallery, shared how she had taken overdoses as a child and attempted to end her life again during her teenage years.
She described feeling "isolated and alone." Her education was negatively affected; she struggled with confidence, trust issues, flashbacks, and experienced ongoing anxiety.
The other woman who was also sexually assaulted by Nulty when she was six years old expressed that she always believed she was at fault.
"The past haunts her every day," remarked Mr.
Williams.
Martine Snowdon, defending Nulty—who appeared via video link—stated that Nulty grew up in an "emotional vacuum," lacking nurturing, and had been subjected to abuse himself.
He has not seen his family since entering custody, and his partner of ten years has chosen not to support him.
Judge Gary Woodhall, sentencing Nulty to seven and a half years, stated that the offender, a father of three, "showed little empathy or remorse," admitting he was sexually aroused by the power he felt.
He noted that the victim described how his actions had "ruined her life," requiring lifelong mental health support.
"Only after being convicted by the jury does she feel she might finally be able to move forward," Judge Woodhall concluded.
