SEX BEAST CAGED FOR UK ATTACK ON GIRL (14)
Thug threatened to burn down his victim’s house
THIS is the Irish serial sex offender who has been jailed in the UK after a horrific assault on a 14-year-old schoolgirl.
Sex beast Ashley McPhee (26), from Midleton in Cork, attacked the girl after finding himself alone with her in a house near Blackburn, Lancashire, last November.
McPhee, who has a history of violence against women, moved to the UK from his native Cork after being convicted of several serious offences in Ireland.
He relocated to the town of Darwen, near Blackburn in northern England, where he carried out the attack on the schoolgirl.
During the attack, McPhee got on top of his victim and pulled down her shirt, before giving her three love bites on her chest in the incident on November 13 last year.
The terrified victim immediately went home and told her parents, leading to McPhee’s arrest that day.
He initially denied to police that he did anything, but was remanded in custody for the separate offence of possession of a knife which officers recovered during his arrest.
‘You should be ashamed of what you did to this young girl’
POSSESSION
A spokesperson for Blackburn and Darwen Police said while on remand McPhee wrote a letter to his victim from prison.
He was jailed for 18 weeks for possession of the knife and for being in breach of notification requirements imposed on him for previous sexual offences in Ireland.
The court heard he had numerous convictions in Ireland, multiple breaches of sex offender notification requirements, possession of drugs and other offences.
He also served time in Ireland for assaulting a young woman and threatening to burn her home.
McPhee initially pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault of the 14-year-old girl and was due to go on trial next month, but recently changed his plea to guilty.
He appeared at Preston Crown Court last month for sentencing.
The Lancashire Telegraph reported that Judge Philip Parry noted McPhee made his first appearance at court on December 12 and pleaded not guilty, claiming the offence didn’t happen.
“A trial was set for May this year but because your victim is a 14-year-old girl, there was a date set for her to be cross-examined by your barrister in what is called a section 28 hearing.
“At a ground rules hearing earlier this week you indicated that you wanted to plead guilty and didn’t want a trial after all.
“At that hearing, having gone through the facts, I told you that the maximum sentence I could impose on you would be 10 months in prison and you changed your plea to guilty, meaning that your victim did not have to come to court at all and give her evidence in that section 28 hearing. You will get credit for that.
“You had a real effect on your victim. She became lonely and sad, and her friends turned against her when none of this was her fault.
“What you did has had an effect on her wellbeing and you should be ashamed of what you did to this young girl.
“Your contact with this young girl put you in breach of your notification requirements.
“You have a poor antecedent record and a poor history of complying with court orders.”
RESTRAINING
He sentenced McPhee to 10 months in prison.
McPhee was made subject of a 10year sexual harm prevention order which states he must sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and was subject of a restraining order against his victim for the same length of time.
A Blackburn and Darwen Police spokesperson said: “This will mean
McPhee will continue to be monitored by the authorities once he is released from prison.
“We are committed to protecting women and girls from all form of sexual harm and will do everything in our power to put the offenders before the courts.”
McPhee has previously appeared in court on numerous occasions in Ireland, including in 2021 when he was convicted of attacking a young woman near Midleton in 2019.
Cork District Court heard McPhee grabbed the woman by the throat and pulled her around by her hair before warning her: “Your house will go up in flames by the end of the night.”
He was sentenced to one year with two months suspended for assault causing harm and threatening to cause criminal damage to the home.