Description
An abstract artist who molested a schoolgirl after inviting her to his studio to see his work and plying her with cider has been jailed.
Ralph McGaul, then 36, admitted to sexually abusing the 14-year-old on four occasions over a three-month period in 2020.
The artist took advantage of the teenager, who said she 'sometimes doesn't recognise herself anymore' after the abuse, on a picnic and at his arts studio in Bollington, near Macclesfield.
The sex offender also spoke to her about them eloping to Cornwall where he said they would go surfing and then have 'hot steamy sex' in his tent.
After McGaul got back together with his long-term partner, he declined to see the girl anymore and when she asked why, he messaged her: 'I'm sorry for what happened and the things I have done and how I treated you. I'm ashamed of myself.'
McGaul was eventually reported to police and was arrested in February 2022.
The girl, now 18, told police how she gets 'intrusive thoughts' about McGaul which leave her feeling 'upset and disgust'.
In a statement to police, the victim said: 'I try really hard not to think about what happened and the man who did it to me, but I often get intrusive thoughts about him and when I do, I get an overriding feeling of upset and disgust.
'It is these same feelings that leave me unable to behave normally or carry on. I am left completely deflated, experiencing feelings of dread and I withdraw into myself, away from those that I love.
'I often don't seem to have the energy for anything else, I struggle to engage with others to maintain conversations with family, friends, I can't concentrate on work, or school.
'Because of this, I have had to take time out from school and work, unable to dictate my own routine and schedule because of what happened.'
She added: 'These events have completely changed my ability to be around people.
'I'm normally an outgoing, bubbly, conversational person, yet often I have found myself wanting to be alone, withdraw and push people away. I sometimes don't even recognise myself anymore
'There is an overwhelming sense of disassociation from myself as an individual and everything going on around me.
'I feel as though I have been transformed into a new person, someone who I do not always recognise, sometimes a complete stranger from the girl I once was before this all happened.
'I used to be confident and independent when out alone in public, but now I find myself thinking twice about everything I do and how people behave around me.
'Even in broad daylight I am anxious and hypervigilant of everyone. I find myself attempting to anticipate what their intentions are, predicting the worst in some cases.
'I feel estranged from the idea of safety in some cases, a feeling I never had prior to all that happened.
'I have had multiple nightmares about the event and what he did and what he might have done if I had never spoken up.'
At Chester Crown Court, McGaul now 40, who studied art in Brighton and Barcelona was locked up for five years and four months after he was convicted of sexual assault.
He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely and was banned from contacting the girl under the terms of a restraining order.
He admitted four charges of sexual activity with a child but denied having sexual intercourse with her. He was cleared of rape and a sexual grooming offence.
The pair became close after originally meeting in December 2018, by chance whilst cycling.
Prosecutor Mr Matthew Dunford said. 'She described an occasion when the two of them had been out for a picnic and were laying down outside.
'She described that he began to spoon her and she asked him what he was doing. He said he could not help it and tried to ignore him and she felt she could not just get up and leave as she was, as she put it, "in the middle of nowhere".
'She described other occasions where the defendant had spoken to her about moving with her to Cornwall.
'He said that after surfing they could go into their tent and have hot steamy sex. The defendant went on to say to her that he saw her as more than just a friend.
'For her part, she told him that she saw him as a really good friend. She told him that she was 14.'
The prosecutor added: 'There was an occasion in June 2020 when she had gone to his shed where he was living at the time. During the day, he had shown her how to carry out screen printing and she ended up staying for tea.
'But he gave her some cider to drink and she described how it made her feel quite dizzy. Afterwards, she describes being sat on the bed when he started to touch her and she says she did not know how to tell him to stop.
'He began taking his clothes off and not knowing how to leave the situation, she went along with it. She describes feeling like she was frozen and described that she did not know how to say no.'
'Some time after this, she describes becoming aware that the defendant had got back with his partner and she says that that made her feel confused. She messaged the defendant setting out how she felt.
'She said to start with she had blamed herself for what happened, but as time had gone by, she realised it had not been her fault.
'The defendant replied saying he was sorry for what had happened - for the things he had done and how he had treated her. He said he was ashamed of himself.'
Police arrested McGaul in February 2022 but he gave no comment in the police interview.
His counsel Mark Ford KC, said: 'In the months leading up to when the offences took place, his relationship with his partner had broken down and the defendant was effectively disconnected from the services that previously provided stability in his life.
'Their chance meeting had profound consequences for them both. As the evidence of messages on social media make clear, the complainant was keen to accompany the defendant and without having any preconceived notion as to where the meeting was likely to lead, he found himself falling in love with the victim.
'She was an intelligent and articulate young woman.
'She was interested in all the things that the defendant was interested in, the outdoor life, music and art.
'The defendant became utterly smitten with her as is often the case when someone's emotions are caught up in the delirium of romantic love.
'Illogical or hopeless as it may seem, people in this situation may believe their feelings are reciprocated. Mr McGaul certainly did.'
At the sentencing, the judge Mr Recorder Eric Lamb told said: 'It has been put forward on your behalf that your actions were illogical and foolish and ultimately damaging but it was based on the self delusion that there was or could be a relationship between yourself and the victim.
'She was 14 and you were 36 and as you rightly acknowledge in your course of self analysis and demonstration of remorse you were the adult and you should have known better.'