Paedophile jailed after raping 12-year-old girl in Penwortham

A paedophile has been jailed after raping  a 12-year-old girl in a car park in Penwortham.

In January 2024, the victim, a girl who was aged 12 at the time, was contacted on TikTok by Sheilds. Sheilds complimented the victim, and they swapped numbers and continued to communicate through WhatsApp, Snapchat and video calls.

Sheilds, who lived in Scotland at the time, arranged to meet the victim in Penwortham on 2nd February. Sheilds drove the victim to a car park where he raped and sexually assaulted her. 

It was reported to police after the girl’s parent uncovered messages on her phone. 

Sheilds was arrested and whilst he admitted to conversing with the girl online, he denied raping or sexually assaulting her.

He was asked if he knew how old the victim was. Sheilds said that he couldn’t remember, but he knew she was young. 

When asked if he knew the victim was wearing her school uniform at the time they met, he said that he thought so. 

Throughout his interview Sheilds blamed a drug addiction for his behaviours. When asked if he was sexually attracted to children during his drug addiction, he responded ‘could be.’

At the time of the offence, he was on bail by Police Scotland with conditions to not have contact with anyone under the age of 16.

Examination of Sheild’s devices found images of the victim and google searches including the name of the victim’s school. 

There were also indecent images, and an indecent video found on his phone. 

Following a consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Gary Sheilds, 37, of no fixed address was charged with the rape of a girl under 13 and causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity. 

He pleaded Guilty at Preston Crown Court, where he was later sentenced, to 9 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of a year.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, the victim said: “When I met him, I was shocked because he did not look the age he had told me, he looked older. This worried me as I thought that he would not let me out of the car if I said anything, so I felt I had to go along with it.”

DS Jenny Cobham of Preston Child Protection team said: “Gary Sheilds is a despicable, perverted individual. Despite saying he couldn’t remember his victim’s age, he was well aware that she was a child and still chose to prey on her.

“Despite her young age, the victim has shown an incredible resilience throughout proceedings, and I can only commend her for her bravery. I hope the knowledge that Sheilds is now serving a significant prison sentence will allow her to begin to move forward. 

“These types of crimes will never be ok. We are committed to preventing it and bringing anyone responsible to justice. 

“If you, or someone you know, is a victim of any sexual offence, I want you to know that we will listen to you, we will investigate appropriately and we will do all we can to get you justice.”