A PAEDOPHILE branded a ‘dangerous predator’ by police has been jailed for 16 years for multiple sexual offences against children.
Michael Murphy, 72, of Barriedale, Brockley, Lewisham, used his connections within the music industry to groom the children.
He was sentenced today at Woolwich Crown Court after being found guilty of 10 offences, relating to three female victims who were all known to him.
The offences included four counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16, two counts of gross indecency with a girl under the age of 16 and two counts of sexual activity with a child.
He was also convicted of one count of rape of a child under 13 and one count of making indecent photographs of a child.
Three decades of abuse
Between 1980 and 2007, Murphy befriended the families of his victims.
He would speak of his connections to the music industry and get concert tickets for the victims and their families.
Police were first made aware of Murphy in 2015, when the first victim reported that in the 1980s and early 1990s, he had abused her from the age of seven until she reached puberty.
Murphy, who knew her parents and visited them at their home in south-east London, would sexually abuse the victim while reading her a bedtime story.
Valentine's cards
The second victim contacted police in 2016, saying Murphy began to sexually abuse her from the age of nine after she and her mother met him while on holiday in Torquay, Devon.
He told them he worked in the music business and was in a band.
Following the holiday, Murphy chatted over the phone with the victim and her mother.
He sent the victim birthday cards, Easter cards and Valentine’s cards with messages stating he loved her and missed her.
The victim felt that Murphy had brainwashed her so much that when she was 16 years old she ran away to live with him for around five years in London.
A third victim identified by investigating detectives described how, in the early 1990s, she travelled with Murphy to meet a family member in the USA.
The victim, then aged nine, said that while she was sleeping, Murphy sexually abused her.
A number of months later, Murphy attended the victim’s home in St John’s Wood, London, where he followed her into her bedroom and sexually abused her.
Terrorised victims
“Murphy is a dangerous predator, who sexually abused and terrorised young innocent victims who were in his care,” said Detective Constable Nichola Buckley from the Met’s Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command.
“Although it had taken many years for the victims to gain justice, Murphy has now been brought to account for his actions.
"I would like to praise the victims for their bravery in helping us put Murphy before the courts. I hope this sentence will give them some measure of closure.”
