‘This is a defendant who has dropped a grenade on his own life’
A “predatory” pervert targeted two young girls for highly sexualised behaviour towards them, including calling one of them a “dirty girl” and becoming “besotted” with her. Mark Oliver “robbed” both girls of their “innocence” and he knew that it was “disgusting, wrong and corrupting” behaviour by him when he asked one of them for sex, Hull Crown Court heard.
Oliver, 57, of Westerdale Grove, off Southcoates Lane, east Hull, but recently in custody on remand, admitted sexual communication with a child and two offences of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, involving one of the girls. He also admitted a series of other offences of making indecent images of a child, involving both girls.
Ben Hammersley, prosecuting, said that Oliver had sexualised conversations with the girls. He asked one of them for sex, talked about specific acts and called her a “dirty girl”.
Oliver later admitted that he “fell in love” with the girl and was “besotted with her”. He was making pictures of her by “cropping” her into pictures of adult women.
He took steps to prevent her contacting the police and he warned her what the consequences would be. Police found a large number of indecent images on Oliver’s mobile phone, including ones where he had superimposed the heads of the girls onto the naked bodies of women. During police interview, he made admissions but he denied having a sexual attraction to children.
Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Oliver told police what they would find in the way of images on his mobile phone. “There is nothing that can be said to mitigate the circumstances of the offences,” said Miss Scott.
“The defendant doesn’t want me to do so. He accepts the impact that his offending his had. He accepted his offending at the very first opportunity in police interview.
“He was never going to contest this matter to trial. He will start work in custody to understand why he has committed these offences. This is a defendant who has dropped a grenade on his own life.
“There is no excuse for this offending. There can be no justification. He is incredibly embarrassed and ashamed to be here.”
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Oliver had no previous convictions and he had previously worked as a caretaker for 40 years. He was working as a trusted cleaner while in custody.
Recorder Alistair MacDonald KC told Oliver that his “predatory sexual activity” towards the two girls was for his own sexual gratification. “I reject the idea that you did not derive sexual pleasure,” said Recorder MacDonald.
“That’s what this was all about. I am not sure that you yet understand what you have done to these young girls. Nothing this court can do can take away the robbing of the innocence of these young girls. “Nothing I can do can restore to those young girls the innocence that they have lost. They were robbed of that by your activities and the consequences of that will remain with them.”
Recorder MacDonald said of one of the girls: “You knew perfectly well that what you were doing was disgusting, wrong and corrupting. Oliver was jailed for four years and four months. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender for life.