Gerard McKenna guilty of raping 12-year-old girl
- Published
Gerard McKenna was convicted after a week-long trial at Craigavon Crown court
A man has been found guilty of raping a 12-year-old girl.
Gerard McKenna, 28, of no fixed abode but with a previous address at Rockville Street in Belfast, committed the attack on 23 December 2019.
He was also found guilty of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. McKenna was also convicted of offering to supply cocaine and two counts of child abduction on the same date.聽
After his conviction, McKenna shouted abuse at the judge and jury.
As Patrick Lynch QC thanked the jury for their services, McKenna called them "low-life scum".
Judge Lynch told the convicted rapist: "There's only one low-life scum here and everybody knows who that is."
During the week-long trial at Craigavon Crown Court, the jury was told McKenna and a friend encountered two girls on the Lagan towpath, plying them with vodka and offering them cocaine and diazepam.聽
The trial was told McKenna sexually assaulted the child before he had sex with her, later taking a train to Belfast where he sexually assaulted the 15-year-old girl by kissing her.聽