A MAN who pretended to be a ghost to manipulate a teenage girl into having sex with him has been jailed for 26 years.
Liam Clarke, 35, of Crediton, Devon, was found guilty of 16 offences against three victims, including rape of a child, sexual assault and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Clarke knew one of his victims, a 15-year-old girl, had a fear of evil spirits after a bad experience when experimenting with a Ouija board.
The Mirror reports he exploited her fears and naivety by telling her that her house was haunted.
He then pushed notes under her bedroom door pretending to be from a ghost.
The notes threatened the girl and her family, and said the only way to get rid of the demon was by having sex with Clarke.
He also produced a note he claimed he’d been sent by the ghost, ordering him to have sex with the girl.
Despite her objection, Clarke threatened the girl and used her fear of the occult “to secure her quite unwilling compliance”, said Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.
Hide and seek
Clarke also sexually abused two other young girls by putting coins in his underpants and getting them to play a game of hide and seek.
All the offences took place between 1997 and 2016 in Torquay, Crediton and Hampshire.
Clarke was jailed today for 26 years, with an additional two years extended licence.
The judge declared him a dangerous offender, which means he will remain in prison indefinitely.
He will only be released when and if he is considered safe by the parole board.
He was also put on the Sex Offenders Register for life and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which restricts his future contact with female children.
DC Katy King, of the Public Protection Unit in Exeter, said: “It has been an extremely traumatic and emotional time for all three victims.
“He has been on remand since July 2017 and this result finally provides these vulnerable victims with some closure.”
