Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Oliver Clay & Stephen Topping

Paedophile woke boy up in tent before 'disgraceful' sexual abuse

A 'disgraceful' paedophile woke a sleeping boy up in a tent before abusing him - making him feel like he was having an 'anxiety attack'. Michael Cullen displayed 'elements of planning and grooming behaviour' before carrying out the abuse, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

The 36-year-old, from Cheshire, was found guilty of engaging in sexual activity and incitement following a trial. As he sentenced Cullen on Monday (April 25), Judge David Swinnerton suggested that he had indulged in behaviour that could be described as 'flirtation' if it 'happened between two people of the same age'.

It involved spraying water at the boy’s 'groin', drawing a dog on his thigh, and 'stroking his leg with his foot', the Liverpool Echo reports. Judge Swinnerton said Cullen had woken his victim in a tent, touched him under clothes and coaxed the boy to do the same to him.

READ MORE: The baby-faced ASBO yobs who became big-time drug dealers... but are now marked men for life

Cullen’s victim felt like he was having an 'anxiety attack' and 'zipped his sleeping bag back up'. Prosecuting, Henry Riding said the boy had provided two impact statements but did not want them to be read out in court.

Judge Swinnerton confirmed he had read them and the victim said the abuse had a 'significant impact on him', and the boy had 'struggled to sleep' and his relationships had been affected. Carmel Wilde, defending, said there had been no long-term grooming and no drink, drugs or 'luring', and although there was a 'disparity' in age, she called it 'not a gross disparity' - a claim later rejected by the judge.

Liverpool Crown Court (Liverpool Echo)

She urged the judge to consider that Cullen had no previous convictions and showed willing to engage in the Horizon sex offender programme, adding he remained 'in denial'. Ms Wilde said there was a 'realistic prospect of rehabilitation' and said references had been submitted to the court describing 'positives' in Cullen’s character, suggesting a suspended sentence with rehabilitation could serve the public interest.

She said there had been threats in connection with the case, including that Cullen 'would be killed' if he was imprisoned. Judge Swinnerton sentenced Cullen to three years in prison and placed him on the sex offenders register for life alongside a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order.

Branding the abuse 'disgraceful', he said: “There was undoubtedly a significant disparity in your ages and there are elements of planning and grooming.” Cullen, of Catherine Street, Widnes, must also pay a statutory victim surcharge.

Get more news, sport and what's on straight to your emails by subscribing to our free newsletters here

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.