Sex offender out on prison licence stopped and sexually assaulted teenage girl as she walked in village near Malton

Nathan McCracken, from Malton, spotted her in his car as she walked in a village near Malton, and stopped in the “remote” location to chat her up, York Crown Court heard.

The girl tried to walk away but McCracken, 27, had other ideas, telling the 16-year-old she was “beautiful”, said prosecutor Katy Rafter.

“He asked her for her telephone number and how old she was,” added Ms Rafter.

“She felt as though she had to give him her number and said she was 16. He lied (that) he was 21 and enquired of her if it was too old. She said it was.”

McCracken then got out of his car, touched and “slapped” her on an intimate area, then gave her a hug, before picking her up and trying to kiss her, said Ms Rafter. She tried making a phone call and McCracken asked her if she was calling the police.

“He offered her money (not to call the police) and told her he could treat her like a princess,” said Ms Rafter.

As the terrified girl tried to walk away, McCracken grabbed her from behind, sexually assaulted her and picked her up again, bouncing her up and down and simulating sex.

McCracken apologised, told her he was feeling “horny” and said he hadn’t had sex “for about six months”. He tried to touch her on an intimate area and offered to show her an intimate part of his body, added Ms Rafter.

“He asked her if she wanted a lift home, grabbed her hand and told her she was so beautiful (that) she needed to be careful (of others),” said Ms Rafter.

At that point, a male passer-by appeared and McCracken drove off.

The victim may have thought that was the end of it, but as she was walking home, McCracken - who did not know her - sent her text messages saying he “didn’t mean to scare her and saying she was beautiful and asking her to meet him”.

Police were able to trace the text messages to McCracken’s phone because he already had a conviction for sexual offences.

In April last year, he was convicted of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, given a short prison sentence and placed on the sex-offenders’ register. He was also made subject to an ancillary order which forbid him from having any advertent contact with children.

McCracken - who was on post-supervision prison licence for the original offences at the time of the incident near Malton on the evening of June 14 - was arrested and charged with sexual assault but made no comment in police interview.

The teenage girl said the incident had left her scared and too fearful even to tell her parents. The girl’s mother said the incident had been “very distressing” for the whole family and her daughter was sometimes scared even to walk to school.

McCracken, of Commercial Street, Norton, ultimately pleaded guilty to sexual assault and appeared for sentence via video link on Monday.

The court heard that his recent previous conviction was for attempting to contact a 14-year-old ‘girl’ online to meet up for sex. In fact, the ‘girl’ was an adult decoy working for a vigilante group.

Eddison Flint, for McCracken, conceded that his client’s “extremely serious” attack on the girl in Malton has “undoubtedly had a significant impact on (her)”.

He said McCracken was grieving the loss of his grandfather at the time and went “haywire”, adding that his client had difficulty with normal “social interactions”.

He said McCracken lived an “isolated life” on a farm but admitted there were “deficiencies in (McCracken’s understanding) of his sexual offending”.

A probation report stated that McCracken was at “high risk of causing serious harm to pre-pubescent females”.

Jailing McCracken for 16 months, judge Simon Hickey said he had noted the “ripple effect” that the incident had had on not just the young victim, but also her family.

He said an immediate jail sentence was the only option for “attacking a (young) lone female on a summer’s night”.

The judge also amended McCracken’s existing sexual-harm prevention order, prohibiting contact with the teenage victim as well as approaching other lone females in public in an advertent way.

Mr Hickey also extended McCracken’s notification requirements as a registered sex offender. McCracken will now remain on the sex-offenders’ register for the next 10 years.