BRIAN FRIEL FROM SHADDONGATE AND CARLISLE SENTENCED FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES AND SEXUAL ASSAULT
| Red Rose Database
Carlisle Shaddongate Child Sexual Abuser
In a disturbing case that has shocked the community of Carlisle and the surrounding areas, Brian Friel, a resident of Shaddongate, was sentenced to prison for his involvement in heinous crimes involving a young girl and the possession of indecent images of children.
On a day in August 2008, Carlisle Crown Court heard harrowing details about Friel’s actions. The 44-year-old, who resided at Shaddon Mill in Shaddongate, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including engaging in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl, failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offenders’ register, and possessing a staggering 20 counts of making indecent images of children. The images, which were found on his laptop, depicted minors as young as five years old, with the prosecution estimating the children’s ages ranged from five to thirteen.
The court was informed that Friel had a prior conviction for assaulting a 12-year-old girl in 1999 at the High Court in Edinburgh. Despite this, he had failed to adhere to the conditions of his previous sentence and was found to have moved across different parts of Scotland and England under various false names, attempting to evade detection. His criminal history and movements across the country were uncovered during police investigations following his arrest.
The case revealed that Friel’s sexual assault on the 13-year-old girl occurred while she was speaking on the phone. During the incident, he touched her inappropriately. The girl protested against his actions, and later that day, Friel wrote her an explicit note, which she rejected. She was so distressed by the incident that she later confided in her mother, expressing her fears and trauma. The girl now avoids boys altogether, fearing they might harm her in similar ways, and is contemplating seeking counselling to cope with the emotional aftermath.
Following the assault, Friel was detained by police. During questioning, he admitted to having consumed a couple of pints of cider and a shot of vodka earlier that day but claimed that alcohol had no influence on his behavior. He also denied the allegations of assault. However, police investigations uncovered his extensive criminal past, including the 1999 conviction for assaulting a young girl.
Further examination of Friel’s electronic devices revealed the disturbing extent of his illegal activities. Three laptops were seized from his home, and one of them contained a total of 330 indecent images of children, varying in severity. The images depicted minors aged between five and thirteen, and Friel admitted that he had been searching for photographs of models aged 16 and above, though he did not pay for or profit from the images, which he downloaded from the internet.
During the sentencing hearing, Friel’s defense argued that he was intoxicated at times when viewing the images and suggested that the offenses, while serious, were not among the worst of their kind. Nonetheless, the court imposed a significant sentence, including a prison term of three and a half years. Additionally, Friel was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life and was banned indefinitely from working with children. He was also subjected to a series of strict conditions preventing him from having any contact with individuals under the age of 16.
This case highlights the ongoing issues of child exploitation and the importance of vigilant law enforcement in protecting vulnerable minors from predators like Brian Friel, whose actions have left a lasting impact on his victims and the community of Carlisle and Shaddongate.
On a day in August 2008, Carlisle Crown Court heard harrowing details about Friel’s actions. The 44-year-old, who resided at Shaddon Mill in Shaddongate, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including engaging in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl, failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offenders’ register, and possessing a staggering 20 counts of making indecent images of children. The images, which were found on his laptop, depicted minors as young as five years old, with the prosecution estimating the children’s ages ranged from five to thirteen.
The court was informed that Friel had a prior conviction for assaulting a 12-year-old girl in 1999 at the High Court in Edinburgh. Despite this, he had failed to adhere to the conditions of his previous sentence and was found to have moved across different parts of Scotland and England under various false names, attempting to evade detection. His criminal history and movements across the country were uncovered during police investigations following his arrest.
The case revealed that Friel’s sexual assault on the 13-year-old girl occurred while she was speaking on the phone. During the incident, he touched her inappropriately. The girl protested against his actions, and later that day, Friel wrote her an explicit note, which she rejected. She was so distressed by the incident that she later confided in her mother, expressing her fears and trauma. The girl now avoids boys altogether, fearing they might harm her in similar ways, and is contemplating seeking counselling to cope with the emotional aftermath.
Following the assault, Friel was detained by police. During questioning, he admitted to having consumed a couple of pints of cider and a shot of vodka earlier that day but claimed that alcohol had no influence on his behavior. He also denied the allegations of assault. However, police investigations uncovered his extensive criminal past, including the 1999 conviction for assaulting a young girl.
Further examination of Friel’s electronic devices revealed the disturbing extent of his illegal activities. Three laptops were seized from his home, and one of them contained a total of 330 indecent images of children, varying in severity. The images depicted minors aged between five and thirteen, and Friel admitted that he had been searching for photographs of models aged 16 and above, though he did not pay for or profit from the images, which he downloaded from the internet.
During the sentencing hearing, Friel’s defense argued that he was intoxicated at times when viewing the images and suggested that the offenses, while serious, were not among the worst of their kind. Nonetheless, the court imposed a significant sentence, including a prison term of three and a half years. Additionally, Friel was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life and was banned indefinitely from working with children. He was also subjected to a series of strict conditions preventing him from having any contact with individuals under the age of 16.
This case highlights the ongoing issues of child exploitation and the importance of vigilant law enforcement in protecting vulnerable minors from predators like Brian Friel, whose actions have left a lasting impact on his victims and the community of Carlisle and Shaddongate.