A gardener has been jailed for 18 years and two months for the rape of a teenager and sexual assault of her two friends in a disused building in east London 25 years ago.
William McMahon, 60 (28.04.56), of no fixed abode was sentenced today, Friday, 6 May, at Snaresbrook Crown Court for the attacks which took place on the evening of 29 June 1990 at The Greenway, Upper Road, E13.
The victims – aged 13, 13 and 12 at the time – were not known to McMahon, who targeted them as they played together near to the scene.
Out of curiosity, the three had gone inside the derelict building to have a look around. Unknown to them, they were followed in by McMahon, who approached them, threatened them and forced them to remove their clothes.
He then anally raped one of the victims, before going on to sexually assault her two companions.
The matter was reported to police at the time and forensics were retrieved, but at that time no one was identified as being responsible for the offences.
A review by the Cold Case Team in September 2010 was able to utilise advances in scientific technology to obtain a full DNA profile. At that time no match was identified within the database.
However, in April 2015 McMahon was arrested in connection with an unrelated domestic matter which led to his being identified.
He was arrested and subsequently charged on 2 September 2015.
On 25 April he attended Snaresbrook Crown court and pleaded guilty to one count of rape, three counts of indecent assault and three counts of false imprisonment.
He was sentenced as follows:
– rape – 18 years’ imprisonment;
– indecent assault (penetrative) – ten years’ imprisonment to run concurrently;
– indecent assault (penetrative) – ten years’ imprisonment to run concurrently;
– indecent assault (non-penetrative) – six years’ imprisonment to run concurrently;
– three counts of false imprisonment – four years’ imprisonment for each count to run concurrently;
MaMahon was also sentenced to two months’ imprisonment for failing to appear at court on an earlier date – this will run consecutively.
Detective Inspector Keith Braithwaite, of the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command said: “McMahon stole the childhoods of his victims, causing them extreme distress and pain throughout their lives – which continues to this day.
“Perversely, McMahon continued with his life as normal for over 25 years.
“I would like to commend the victims for their courage and determination in pursuing this conviction and hope today’s sentence goes some way to bring closure to them and their families for McMahon’s heinous crimes.
“Sadly one of the victims died before he was brought to justice.
“I would like to reassure the public that offences of this nature are thankfully a rarity. The Met will continually review such cases and will use all advances in technology available to bring such offenders to justice.
“I believe there may well be other victims of McMahon and would urge anyone with information to contact us on 020 8217 6538. To remain anonymous call Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.”