Santiago McMurtrie 37

Description

A man who groomed a child online before traveling from Scotland to commit multiple sex offences against her in Norfolk has been jailed for eight years.

Santiago McMurtrie, 37, of Foyers Road, Kinlochleven, Inverness, appeared via video link from King’s Lynn in Norwich Crown Court on Monday 19 January to be and sentenced for 11 counts of sexual activity with a child.

McMurtrie, who previously pleaded not guilty to the offences, stood trial on Monday 5 January and was found guilty on Friday 16 January by a jury.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison, with an additional one year to be served on licence. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order not to contact the victim.

The following is an extract from the victim's statement read out in court: “I understand that Santiago McMurtrie will hear this statement being read out. I was a naïve and very young …girl. I want him to know that what he has done has had a massive impact on me emotionally, physically, and mentally. No matter what he has done to me, I will not let it ruin my life and I know that he will get what he deserves.”

On Sunday 8 November 2020 McMurtrie was arrested by Police Scotland at his home address in Inverness for sexual grooming of the female victim.

Mobile devices, seized by officers at the time of his arrest, were later found to contain evidence, including 330 messages between the McMurtrie and the victim, phone calls, and photos of the victim, including one of her in school uniform. 

The court heard that the victim had conversations with him about her age, and he was aware she was under the age of 16.

Forensic analysis showed the victim’s DNA on a fleece blanket owned by McMurtrie. DNA evidence also linked Santiago to the victim’s vest and her phone contained messages that confirmed her location, who she was with, and photographs of them together.

Sexually explicit message with a man saved in her contacts as ‘Santi’ and Santiago McMurtrie were also discovered on the victim’s phone.

Officers discovered McMurtrie had been speaking to the victim online after meeting via Pinterest and messaged her on platforms including Snapchat and WhatsApp, around four and a half months before meeting in Norfolk.

The court heard how McMurtrie had told his wife that he was going fishing on the Scottish Coast, when in fact, McMurtrie had travelled from Scotland to Hopton in Norfolk to meet his victim.

The victim’s family were alerted in November 2020 when the victim disclosed the relationship at school.

The victim also told a family member that she had sex with McMurtrie, that he loved her and they were going to be together. He told her that when ‘she turned 16’ he would travel down to meet her family, and she believed she was in love.

The victim had Santiago’s two mobile numbers saved to her phone – in one text message he described himself as her ‘husband’.

Detective Sergeant Tom Cole said:

“I would like to thank the victim and her family for coming forward, as this does take a great deal of bravery.

“McMurtrie knew what he was doing as a perpetrator of sexual offences against a child, he knew her age and spoke to her for some months online before arranging to see her in secret. He manipulated and groomed the victim and abused his position as an adult with a vulnerable child.

“We know that sentencing cannot heal the damage that has often been done in these cases but hope it goes somewhere to gaining some justice.”