A judge has questioned how a convicted child sex offender managed to subject a 13-year-old vulnerable girl to a catalogue of sexual abuse when she was in the care of the Western Health And Social Care Trust. Judge Philip Babington made the comment at the Crown Court in Coleraine after he sentenced Christopher Harley 35 to four years and six months in prison. Harley who is originally from Londonderry but whose address was given as Glenhull Walk in Omagh pleaded guilty to six charges of sexually abusing the girl between May 2013 and May 2015 starting when she was aged 14. She was a resident in a childrens home although none of the abuse took place in the facility.
It does seem very strange to the court that his young girl
was in a position to be abused by the defendant although she was supposed to be
in the care of the Western Trust in a childrens home Judge Babington said. He
said Harley engaged in a sustained course of sexual conduct when she was 14 and
15 years of age and therefore below the age of consent. The girl said they were
always having sex as often as a couple of times a day he said. She said the
defendant found her attractive when she was wearing her school uniform he
added. Judge Babington said their developing relationship could only be
described as chaotic.
The girl continued to abscond from the childrens home so
that she could be with Harley. A Harbourers Notice was served on Harley in
February 2014 after which the police found the girl in a flat naked from the
waste down with Harley. He was remanded in custody following that incident but
kept in contact with his victim from prison by daily phone calls by letters and
by using other to contact her via social media. Harley was released from jail
in November 2014 and immediately resumed the relationship. Judge Babington said
on one occasion Harley took videos and photographs of them having sex.
In May 2015 Harley was remanded in custody for child abduction involving the girl but when he was released the following month police found him in bed with her and both of them were naked. Following his arrest in August 2018 Harley denied the allegations and described the victim as a wee actress and said she definitely wore the trousers in their relationship. Judge Babington said in April 2015 Harley received a suspended sentence at Londonderry Magistrates Court for her abduction when she was in care. On this occasion the girl was found in a flat with the defendant who was bare chested as was another male in the property. They were all lying in a double bed together with two other females he said.
One month later Harley received another sentence again abducting the girl after they were both found naked in bed. In April 2018 Harley was jailed for one year and eight months for abducting two girls aged 13 and 15 who went missing from a childrens home and who were later found in his flat. Judge Babington said having read the relevant documentation this court has no doubt that the girl has suffered long-term emotional harm as a result of the defendants conduct. He said Harley has been assessed as posing a high likelihood of re-offending due to various matters which he said included child abductions and breaching court orders. As well as being jailed Harley who had previously been subjected to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order until 2025 was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.
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