MICHAEL COLLINS SENTENCED IN LIVERPOOL FOR SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP AND THREATS INVOLVING SCHOOLGIRL
Michael Collins, aged 35, who recently been released from prison, engaged in a disturbing relationship with a 15-year-old girl from Newton-le-Willows, which included threats of acid attack and stabbing.Collins, of no fixed address, began communicating with the girl via Facebook during the summer, while she was attempting to contact her biological mother.
Liverpool Crown Court was told how Collins, after his release from Hindley prison in August of the previous year, started a relationship with the girl that soon became possessive and controlling.
He threatened to throw acid in her face and to stab her outside her school, despite the relationship being acknowledged by the prosecution as ostensibly loving and caring, with Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, stating, "It was accepted...
that it was a loving and caring relationship in which you showed genuine affection for her." The judge also noted that the threats, though serious in tone, were ultimately hollow, but the victim took them very seriously.
Nicola Daley, prosecuting, explained that the couple’s contact began shortly after Collins was released from Hindley Prison, where he had been recalled to serve the remainder of a previous sentence.
Their communication, including FaceTime calls and meetings, sometimes involving sexual activity while the girl was in her school uniform, came to light in November.
She had confided in a teaching mentor that she had slept with a much older man who then behaved aggressively towards her.
Following her disclosure, police were involved.
During police interviews, she revealed that they had argued earlier that day, and he had threatened to throw acid in her face.
Although concerned about these threats, she continued to contact Collins, both wishing to maintain the relationship.
She also described how their relationship deteriorated when Collins was under the influence of drugs, with reports of them drinking vodka, taking cocaine, and engaging in sexual acts involving the girl performing a sex act on him.
The girl recounted meeting Collins at Hunts Cross station, where some young men allegedly warned her about their relationship due to her age.
She claimed Collins was like her uncle, and during their encounter, they had sex.
Collins, who has three children, expressed a desire for her to have his baby, stating, "He did not take any precautions...
he wanted her to have his baby," which was described as a mutual wish.
Collins was accused of making threats related to jealousy over other boys or their substance use.
After their relationship was exposed, the girl left the area, but on December 31, Collins appeared at her new address in a stolen car.
When he saw a police helicopter overhead, he left stating he would return in a few minutes but did not.
He was later arrested at his grandfather’s home in Kirkby.
Miss Daley highlighted that the girl was extremely conflicted, feeling both torn and attracted to Collins, and in many ways wishing to continue their relationship, which appeared to be based on genuine affection.
Defense counsel Stuart Mills argued that the girl was not afraid of Collins and maintained that their relationship was initially loving and consensual.
He acknowledged that the age gap was problematic and that Collins would be punished accordingly.
Mills explained Collins’s actions as stemming from loneliness after his release from prison and said he planned to relocate from Merseyside to start afresh.
Collins pleaded guilty to six offenses, including engaging in sexual activity with a child, sexual activity in the presence of a child, and inciting a child to engage in sexual acts.
He was sentenced to five years in prison, and the court ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Additionally, an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order was imposed upon him.
