By Paul Higgins
A Cookstown man who raped and sexually assaulted a six-year-old child was handed a 13-year sentence.
Jailed at Dungannon Crown Court, sitting in Belfast, 31-year-old Jason Harkness (31) was also handed a indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order and told that he will remain on the police sex offenders register for the rest of his life.
Ordered to serve half his sentence in jail and half under supervised licence condition, Harkness, from the Drum Road in Cookstown, had earlier been convicted of a raft of sex offences including offences of rape of a child under 13, sexual assault, sexual assault by penetration, common assault as well as possessing indecent images of children and extreme pornography.
Speaking after the plea and sentence, Detective Sergeant Mallon said: “To take a child’s innocence away from them in such an abhorrent way is sickening. Our thoughts are with the victim today, who was only six years old when these offences began.
“We hope that the bravery shown by this victim in coming forward will encourage others who have experienced any form of sexual abuse to come forward to Police.
“Today’s sentencing illustrates that we remain committed to investigating all reports of sexual offences against children and young people, building robust cases to get justice before the courts.
“If you have ever experienced or witnessed any form of sexual abuse we urge you to contact police on 101, or in an emergency call 999. We have specially trained detectives who can help you, no matter when the abuse happened. You don’t have to suffer in silence.”
ENDS
CLANRYE NEWS 