Mark Blackie jailed: Victim of attempted rape and her mum tell how he devastated their lives

A teenage girl who former Scarborough teacher Mark Blackie tried to rape told his sentencing hearing of the trauma that she and her family had suffered since.
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And the girl's mother said the repercussions of Blackie’s wicked actions had been “devastating and far-reaching” for her entire family.

Blackie, 32, was jailed for 10 years for sexually abusing five girls, one of whom he tried to rape.

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He denied 10 separate allegations - including one of attempted rape - but was found guilty of all charges following a trial at York Crown Court in January.

Library photo, for illustrative purposes only. It does not show any of Blackie's victims.Library photo, for illustrative purposes only. It does not show any of Blackie's victims.
Library photo, for illustrative purposes only. It does not show any of Blackie's victims.

He appeared for sentence via video link today after being remanded in Hull Prison.

The girl whom Blackie tried to rape said she had felt suicidal and would never be able to “trust anybody fully again”.

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“I lie awake at night, day after day, wondering if it was my fault,” she added.

'My skin crawls'

“When I close my eyes, I see him and feel him and smell him. My skin crawls and I feel disgusting."

The girl said: “I think about death a lot and wonder if it (would have) been easier for everyone if I simply died."

She stopped socialising with friends and ended up in hospital.

“I just wanted to die,” she added.

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The girl’s mother said the repercussions of Blackie’s wicked actions had been “devastating and far-reaching” for her entire family.

'Our world came crashing down'

She said that when her daughter told her and her husband about the abuse “our world came crashing down”.

“We are still feeling a thousand different emotions,” she added.

“She lost so many things that day (including) her sense of trust. (Blackie) took from her her best teenage years and I lost the daughter I once had.

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“We used to do everything together, but now every ounce of pleasure has been stripped away and our grief and shock has caused us to implode.”

She said the thought of what Blackie did to her daughter filled her with “terror” and gave her nightmares.

She said Blackie’s abuse had turned her daughter into a “tough, angry” girl who had since been on a path of “self-destruction” and whose education had suffered terribly since the abuse.

She said her own work life and marriage had been affected and she now “existed on autopilot”.

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“The full scope of the damage caused by this one person has damaged us all,” she added.

Emotional blackmail

Judge Sean Morris told Blackie the effect on the young victim of the attempted rape had been “devastating”.

“She says she can still feel you touching her body,” added Mr Morris.

“You then employed emotional blackmail so that she didn’t disclose what you did, but (the victim) is an intelligent and brave young girl, as indeed are all the other girls.

"They were bright and they knew right from wrong – unlike you. I found their evidence compelling, as did the jury.”