MICHAEL KEENAN AND SHOCKING CHILD RAPE IN MANCHESTER
A young woman from Oldham, Greater Manchester, has bravely come forward to share her harrowing experience of childhood abuse inflicted by her father, Michael Keenan.Her decision to speak out comes at a time when she faces the unsettling possibility that he may be released from prison as soon as next month.
Danielle Keenan, now 18 years old, made the courageous choice to waive her right to lifelong anonymity in order to publicly recount her ordeal and to serve as a warning to others about the dangers of child abuse.
Her story is one of pain, resilience, and the importance of speaking out against such heinous acts.
The abuse began when Danielle was just seven years old, shortly after her family relocated to Germany due to her father’s military deployment.
Michael Keenan’s sickening actions started early, and Danielle recalls that he began abusing her a year after their move.
She vividly remembers the threats he made to silence her, saying, “He said if I told anyone, I would have to shoot him and the Army would make me watch.” Despite the threats, Danielle’s love for her father persisted, clouded by her young understanding and familial bonds.
Her first experience of sexual assault occurred around Christmas time when she was suffering from a stomach bug.
Danielle describes feeling ill and vomiting into a bucket, during which her father sexually assaulted her for the first time.
She recounts, “I had underwear on but he would grind up against the back of me.
A couple of weeks later, he came back into my room and did it again.” The abuse escalated over time, especially when her mother, who has requested to remain anonymous, was hospitalized after going into labor with twins and catching an infection.
Danielle was left alone with her father during this period.
She explains, “He said he was lonely because mum wasn’t there and it started properly every night.
Mum went into labour and got quite ill.
Before he went to work, he would start doing it every morning and night.
He would come into my room and ask me to get into bed with him.” The family’s constant moves across Germany meant Danielle was isolated from her extended family and friends, making her more vulnerable.
She reflects on how her father exploited this situation, banking on her lack of a stable support network.
The most horrific incident occurred when Danielle was nine years old.
She was asked to clean out the rabbit hutch in the basement when her father raped her.
She recalls, “He followed me downstairs.
We had a pull-out sofa because it was a kids’ room.
I didn’t know what it was, it just hurt.
He said if I told anyone, no one would believe me and I would ruin the family.” Despite the trauma, Danielle struggled to find the words to describe what had happened.
It was only when her mother, then 38, noticed her withdrawal that Danielle was finally able to confide in her.
Using teddy bears to illustrate her experience, she told her mother everything.
Danielle recounts, “One night, he was in my room and in bed with me as normal.
My mum came upstairs to check on me and she looked at me and could see on my face that something wasn’t right.
I had to use two teddies to show her.
I told her everything after showing her.
After that, I knew he was lying and they would believe me.” Her father, Michael Keenan, initially denied the allegations, claiming it never happened and that Danielle was lying.
However, her mother’s intuition and the evidence of her daughter’s distress led to the truth emerging.
Her mother recalls the moment she discovered the extent of her daughter’s suffering: “Leading up to this, I had already been concerned about Danielle.
I had spoken to him about it and he said she was probably just adjusting to the move and missing her friends.
I went upstairs to find him and Danielle’s door was cracked open.
He was lay down with her and I didn’t see anything, but I saw Danielle’s face and she wasn't there.
It wasn’t my little girl there.
There was no life – nothing.” Hesitating briefly in the doorway, her mother’s suspicions grew as she observed her daughter’s behavior.
She describes how Danielle sat up on her knees, pointing at her father, and looked from her to him, indicating something was wrong.
Her mother confronted her, asking if her father had done something, to which Danielle responded affirmatively.
Using the teddy bears again, Danielle showed her mother what had happened, and her mother immediately understood.
That very night, Danielle’s mother alerted military police, leading to Michael Keenan’s arrest.
He was 34 at the time.
Keenan left their home, prompting a police search, and eventually surrendered himself at a military barracks.
During court proceedings, he admitted to ten child sex offences and was sentenced to five years in prison in July 2015.
Later that year, on New Year’s Eve, Danielle sent a message to her grandmother via an iPad, revealing that her father had raped her.
This disclosure prompted immediate police action.
Following a trial at the Military Corrective Training Centre in Colchester, Essex, Keenan was convicted of the rape of a child under 13.
In 2017, he received a sentence of eleven years and six months behind bars.
Despite his incarceration, the father of six, who served with the Royal Logistics Corps, could potentially be released on parole as early as next month, leaving Danielle and her family in a state of ongoing distress and concern.
Her story underscores the devastating impact of child abuse and the importance of vigilance and support for victims.
Danielle’s courage in speaking out highlights the critical need for awareness and intervention to protect vulnerable children from similar horrors.
