A Whitehaven man who sexually assaulted and raped a 16-year-old girl has been jailed by a judge who branded his behaviour predatory.
Callum Johnstone, now 29, was high on alcohol and cocaine when he led the extremely drunk teen to a town park and took advantage of her, Carlisle Crown Court heard today.
Johnstone had earlier sat in a Whitehaven bar for a prolonged period with the intoxicated teen, who was captured on CCTV in the early hours of August 21 2022, both with her head on a table and then stumbling on a dance floor.
While in the bar Johnstone was warned off the girl — to whom he’d made a sexualised comment days before — by a bystander, in no uncertain terms, due to her tender age and drunken state.
But instead he followed the teen after she left the premises and, a judge concluded, took her to the park by guiding her or at least holding her up on the way.
She had limited recollection of what then occurred but told others after the incident: “He told me to do things. Sexual things.”
After a crown court trial last week, Johnstone was convicted, unanimously, of raping the girl and assaulting her, digitally, by penetration. He denied the charges.
“She was scared throughout that no-one would believe her,” said prosecutor Tim Evans as he read a victim impact statement during Johnstone’s sentencing hearing.
“I know what I felt. I know how scary it was,” said the girl, who said her self-confidence had since completely disappeared. “It’s always going to be in my mind, no matter how much I try to distract myself.”
The girl’s devastated mother described the family being left broken, with their lives changed completely.
“I doubt I will ever get my funny, loving daughter back,” she said, “but if this experience gives just some people the courage to speak out about rape and sexual assault, and report it, then hopefully our awful experience will not have been wasted.”
A raft of references provided in support of Johnstone spoke of a different person who ordinarily was gentle, loyal and hard-working.
But as he imposed a six-and-a-half year prison sentence, Judge Nicholas Barker told the defendant: “I am satisfied that you behaved in a predatory manner towards her that night. You were 26. She was an extremely drunk 16-year-old girl. I am satisfied that the only reason that you were sat there with her was because you harboured a sexual interest towards her.”
Johnstone, of Earls Road, Whitehaven, must serve two-thirds of the jail term before being considered for release from custody. He must sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely, and will be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.
- As the hearing concluded, Judge Barker said he would encourage police to investigate — and support prosecution of — anyone found to have broken the law by posting malicious or threatening messages on social media. His comment came after the court heard some posts had been made online in the wake of last week’s guilty verdicts.
