Yorkshire sex predator plied young girls with alcohol and drugs before continuing to abuse them while unconscious

A sexual predator who abused two young girls after plying them with alcohol and cannabis kept his head in his hands during a Sheffield Crown Court hearing, as he was forced to listen to the devastating impact of his crimes.

Despite being judged to have 'no empathy whatsoever' for the two girls he abused, Darren Oldham barely looked up to face them as he was brought to justice, during a hearing held at the court on February 7, 2024. 

Sending Oldham, aged 35, to prison, the judge - Recorder Ian Mullarkey - said his sexual abuse had 'touched almost every aspect' of his victims' lives, and had caused 'perhaps irreparable damage'.

One of the two girls - both of whom were just 14-years-old at the time of Oldham’s offending - said she has not been in education since the abuse took place, and has 'missed out' on taking her GCSEs. The girl, in her statement to the court, said she has also lost a dramatic amount of weight, going from eight-and-a-half to six stone, as she attempts to come to 'come to terms with what has happened'. 

"I do not feel like myself anymore. [After the abuse] I couldn’t shower or do anything without breaking into tears. After what happened, I began to look differently at men, I even began to look at my own granddad differently," she said, adding: "I already had anxiety and depression, but obviously this has made it worse, a lot worse."

"I’ve lost all my friends…we were close before but since this I don’t want to do anything. For the last year I’ve done nothing…I’ve changed as a person since Darren did this to me, and it’s not changed since."

Speaking directly to Oldham through her statement, his second victim told him: "You ruined my mental health, you made me want to take my own life because of the trauma you caused. I struggle going to school…I feel like every male will hurt me. You made me feel like that. I feel a shell of a person who’s angry because of the trauma in my life."

"I hope you get punished, you deserve to rot in jail," she continued. 

The court was told how Oldham abused the two girls - who are not known to each other - in separate incidents, which took place in Rotherham and Cornwall, seven months apart. 

Prosecutor, Michael Collins, told the court that Oldham gave both and alcohol prior to carrying out the sex offences. 

In addition, in both cases, the two girls were rendered unconscious - with one falling asleep after being given cannabis and one being knocked unconscious after he forced her head back, causing her to hit it on a rock - during the course of Oldham’s abuse. 

The shameless sex offender persisted with the abuse while the girls - neither of whom can be named for legal reasons - were unconscious, and they both awoke to find him on top of them, the court heard. 

Recorder Mullarkey told Oldham: "What we have here are two 14-year-old girls intoxicated by you, asleep or unconscious. It’s difficult to think of a more vulnerable situation."

He added: "There was this pattern here, of plying young girls with intoxicants."

Mr Collins said that after abusing one of the girls, he pretended to be asleep after she pushed him off, and fled the scene after the other girl 'screamed' out for help.

Oldham was wanted by South Yorkshire Police for several months, before being located charged with sex offences in connection with the two incidents in November 2023. 

He subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of assault on a female 13 and over by penetration with part of body/a thing at an earlier hearing. 

Defending, James Baird said Oldham’s best point of mitigation was his guilty pleas, which were 'effectively entered' at his first hearing before Sheffield Crown Court. 

Mr Baird continued: "Your Honour knows he is the product of the care system, taken into care at the age of 11…he started abusing drugs at a very early age, 12 or 13, and there is also a serious drink problem."

Mr Baird said Oldham’s substance misuse issues intensified following the death of his daughter, adding that he was intoxicated at the time of both sets of offences, something Mr Baird said he advanced as an explanation, but did not seek to suggest it as a point of mitigation. 

Referring to the conclusions reached by the author of Oldham’s pre-sentence report, Recorder Mullarkey told him: "You have no empathy whatsoever for the victims of your offending, and fail to recognise the seriousness of your offending."

He jailed Oldham, of Middleton Road, Banbury, for nine years, and said he felt it necessary to also impose an extended licence period of three years - bringing his total sentence to 12 years. 

Recorder Mullarkey told the court he felt it necessary to impose the extended licence upon Oldham for the protection of the public, and 'young women in particular,' after judging him to meet the statutory criteria for a dangerous offender.