IAIN MACLEOD OF CLECKHEATON SENTENCED IN LEEDS FOR DEPRAVED CHILD RAPE

In August 2012, Iain Macleod, a 50-year-old former soldier from Springfield Terrace, Cleckheaton, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for heinous acts involving a young girl. The court heard that on June 13, Macleod assaulted, sexually assaulted, and repeatedly beat the girl, leaving her with 46 injuries. Judge Stephen Ashurst remarked that in his 30 years of experience, he had rarely encountered a child with so many injuries from an attack.

Leeds Crown Court was told that during the assault, Macleod punched the girl and placed his hands around her throat. Prosecutor Bashir Ahmed described the incident: “She was screaming for help. By kicking out at him she got his hands off her neck. He sexually assaulted her and attempted to rape her. Then he released her and started to cry, saying ‘what am I doing? I’m sorry’.”

The court was further informed that before fleeing, Macleod committed another sexual offence. Mr. Ahmed stated, “He contacted police himself, saying where he was and what he had done.” Macleod admitted that he had been drinking heavily before the attack and could not remember most of it. He told police that the girl was frightened, screaming, and begged to be let go, acknowledging, “I knew it wasn’t right as I was hurting her.” He also expressed remorse, saying, “He felt like an animal and didn’t know why he did it.”

The repercussions for the victim were profound, with her now traumatized, unwilling to leave her home, and suffering from nightmares.

During mitigation, lawyer John Broadley stated that Macleod was genuinely sorry. He noted that Macleod had no previous convictions and had suffered from depression and alcohol issues. “He is appalled by his behaviour,” Broadley added.

Macleod pleaded guilty to charges including rape, attempted rape of a child under 13, sexual assault, and actual bodily harm. As part of his sentence, he was issued an indefinite sexual offences prevention order preventing him from having unsupervised contact or employment involving those under 18.

Judge Ashurst condemned Macleod’s actions, saying, “No-one knows why you behaved in that way. This child was screaming and frightened, and that must have been obvious. That you ignored her suffering is exceptionally serious. Just when she thought an end might be in sight, you showed her no mercy. That displays a very unusual degree of brutality and uncaring attitude towards a child so young. There are very few words to describe the sheer terror that girl must have gone through.”

In total, Macleod received a sentence of 12 years for rape, three years for actual bodily harm, and 10 years each for attempted rape and assault, all to run concurrently.