Man who forced vulnerable women into prostitution given seven-year sentence

A pensioner who exploited vulnerable young women by supplying them with heroin in exchange for them working as prostitutes has been handed a seven-year sentence.

Oliver James MacCormack, 71, was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday, having previously pleaded guilty to 40 offences, including charges of human trafficking and controlling prostitution.

He also admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice, witness intimidation and offences of supplying class A drugs.

There were nine victims involved in the case, some as young as 17 at the time of the offences. One has since died of sepsis due to intravenous drug use.

The victims had vulnerabilities including drug addiction, homelessness and mental health issues.

MacCormack is the fourth man to be sentenced following a sexual exploitation investigation conducted by the PSNI’s modern slavery and human trafficking unit.

The court heard the victims were heroin addicts and MacCormack would exploit their vulnerability to force them into prostitution in exchange for him supplying them with drugs.

Passing sentence, Judge Gordon Kerr KC said MacCormack, whose address was given as Maghaberry prison, used heroin as a means to control his victims.

The former car salesman, dressed in a grey suit and striped tie, sat in the dock as the judge spoke.

At the conclusion of the hearing, some of the victims and their families shouted abuse at MacCormack from the public gallery as he was led out of the court. He did not react to them.

Three other men have already been sentenced as part of the same investigation.

Derek Brown, 61, with an address at Maghaberry prison, was handed a six-year sentence last month for human trafficking, controlling prostitution for gain, sexual assault, paying for sexual services and drugs-related offences, including being concerned in the supply of a class A controlled drugs.

The police said one of Brown’s victims has also since died. She died of a suspected overdose.

Kenneth David Harvey, 74, from Old Road in Lisburn, was sentenced to two years in December for human trafficking and paying for sexual services. Two months earlier, he was sentenced to three years for similar offences.

Another pensioner, Robert Albert Rodgers, 79, from the Antrim Road in Belfast, was given a two-year probation order in October after admitting brothel keeping and three counts of controlling prostitution for gain.

Like the other two men sentenced to time in custody, half of MacCormack’s seven-year sentence will be served in jail and the other half on licence.

However, the time he has already spent in prison will be factored in. He has been in custody since May 2022.

After the sentencing, one of MacCormack’s victims described how her life was upended overnight, leaving her manipulated, controlled and dependent on drugs.

The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, said in a statement that MacCormack got her hooked on heroin and “orchestrated it that I became completely dependent on him to get my fix”.

She said: “One day I went from being employed in (a company), aged in my early 20s, to overnight becoming an advertised escort, a heroin addict waking up sick every day, and stealing from my family to buy heroin from him.

“MacCormack manipulated me and used coercive control. He would supply me with heroin every day at the same place and at the same time.

“However, if I refused to have sex with one of the sex-buyers he had set me up with, he would not sell me any heroin and would block my phone number, leaving me sick for days.

“With MacCormack, I lost the right to say yes or no as a girl and as a woman.

“Sex with paying customers just became so normal. I would wake up every day merely existing and not living.

“I hated MacCormack so much, but he had me needing him because of his heroin. I was addicted to heroin for seven years because of MacCormack and, in that time, I was often in trouble with the police.”

She said she is now free from heroin and felt “stronger than I have in a long time”.

“I will never let anyone treat me the way MacCormack did,” she said.

“MacCormack came between my mother, nanny and I. I was very close to my nanny and feel like I didn’t get to spend the time with her that I should have before her death.

“I’m trying to do the best I can now. I have a great family. I will get through this and not let what MacCormack did to me define me.”

Outside court on Thursday, a police officer described the “horrific exploitation” of the victims.

PSNI Detective Inspector Rachel Miskelly said MacCormack ensured the young females became dependent upon him for their supply of heroin.

“He groomed and encouraged them to become involved in sex work, and controlled their prostitution by arranging meetings with sex-buyers, transporting them to and from appointments,” she said.

“The defendant himself also engaged in sexual acts with the individuals.”

The officer said while the four sentenced men were not part of an organised crime group, she said they had a “despicable commonality”.

She said: “They formed part of a network of older local men who actively targeted young, vulnerable, local women for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

“All four were known to one another, and all preyed upon these vulnerable women, with Oliver MacCormack, Kenneth Harvey and Derek Brown exploiting several of the same victims. Meanwhile, Robert Rodgers facilitated meetings between the women and sex buyers at a brothel, which he ran from his home in north Belfast.

“The women, who were mainly trafficked around the Greater Belfast area, were vulnerable due to mental health issues, homelessness and their dependency on drugs.

“This horrific exploitation has happened by local men and on our own doorsteps.

“They lined their pockets at the expense of young women while using them for their own sexual gratification. The girls have been used, controlled and treated appallingly.

“It’s hard for most of us to truly imagine what trauma these girls have endured.”

She also paid tribute to the two victims who later died.

“Both untimely deaths have left two loving families absolutely heartbroken,” said the officer.

“Even though their worlds have been torn apart, both families have provided continued and invaluable support to our investigation, in what can only be described as the most harrowing circumstances.”

The officer hailed the “tremendous courage” of all the victims in the investigation.

“These young women have been inspirational and I truly hope that others who may be suffering will be encouraged to come forward,” she said.

“I promise you that we are here to listen and to help you, and to bring those who would seek to use and abuse to justice.

“I’m also asking others to be mindful of the tell-tale signs of human trafficking. This isn’t something you can ignore, and if you see or hear any activity that causes you concern, please contact us on 101.”