Southampton Child Abuser Jailed

45 year old Darren Mackrell from Southampton has been jailed indefinitely for raping three children.

Mackrell of Wilton Avenue, Southampton was today, Friday 21st September, sentenced to an indeterminate term of imprisonment for public protection at Winchester Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to 18 sexual offences, which he committed on 21 April 2012. 

These offences include the rape and sexual assault of three children, causing them to engage in sexual activity, forcing them to watch a sexual act and take drugs. 

Following the sentence, Fiona Rutherford Head of CPS Wessex Crown Advocacy Unit said: 

"This was a horrific case where three young children, aged 10, nine and eight were raped by a 46-year-old man. 

"Darren Mackrell committed these atrocious crimes against three very young and vulnerable children. He invited them into his flat to engage them in what the judge described as sustained and planned sexual assaults. 

"During the six hours the children where in his flat, he made them watch hard core pornographic movies. He also enticed them to take a variety of drugs including amphetamines, Temazepan, cannabis and Viagra, the effects of these drugs alone could have caused the children serious harm. His aim in giving the children these drugs was to stupefy them, so that he could commit the abhorrent acts of raping them and subjecting them to other sexual offences. He also threatened to kill them with a hunting knife if they were to reveal their ordeal. 

"The mother of one of the children became concerned when her son didn't return home that evening and went to search for him. Other children directed her towards Mackrell's house but when she knocked at the door there was no response. She became suspicious as she could hear noises from within the flat and she contacted the police. On arrival, the police kicked down the door to discover that there were three young children inside, two of whom ran out as soon as the door was opened and the other was shouting and clearly very scared. 

"Mackrell was arrested at the scene, interviewed and charged with these offences. 

"I would like to thank these young victims who showed great courage by giving their statements to the police. Without them we would not have been able to build a strong case against Mackrell, which eventually led to his guilty pleas. 

"Our thoughts remain with them and their families."