MARK TULLY OF STANLEY SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS FOR SEXUAL OFFENSES AGAINST SCHOOLBOYS IN SOUTH TYNESIDE

In March 2014, a man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for carrying out disturbing sexual attacks on two schoolboys in South Tyneside. Mark Tully, aged 24 and from Railway Gardens, Stanley, repeatedly raped one of the boys and sexually assaulted the other.

Despite denying any inappropriate conduct toward his victims, Tully was convicted by a jury following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court. His denials meant that the victims had to testify in court about their experiences during the assaults.

The jury found Tully guilty of two counts of rape of a child under 13 and three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13. Prosecutor Gavin Doig stated that “During police interviews he denied any sexual activity with either child, which he maintains in his probation report.”

The court heard that the first victim felt “ashamed and disgusted” by what Tully had done and had kept silent until confiding in his mother. The second boy told jurors he felt “sad and worried in case he got wrong” due to the sex assaults.

Judge Penny Moreland emphasized the seriousness of the case, stating that Tully “must sign the sex offenders register, abide by a sexual offences prevention order and be barred from working with children for the rest of his life.” She added, “The long-term harm and psychological damage done to those boys by your abuse cannot be underestimated, in my view.”

Despite the verdicts, Tully continues to deny the allegations. His defense lawyer, John Wilkinson, remarked, “In the light of the defendant having a trial there is a limit of what I can say. He was, until these convictions, of good character.”