The murder of the convicted paedophile Sean Small in Newcastle is “not to be celebrated,” the father of one of his victims has warned despite what he calls a “mockery” of the justice system.
Small (84) was found dead outside his home on Slievenabrock Avenue on August 24, after what police described as a “brutal and sustained attack.”
Mark William Bready (41) from the same street has since been charged with his murder on a date between August 19 and 24.
Small had been recently released from prison, serving half of a six-year sentence behind bars for sexual offences against a child and a vulnerable young woman.
He had previously pleaded guilty to 10 offences, carried out between September 2016 and April 2018.
Reported by the Mourne Observer, the father of one of Small’s victims has called for an “urgent overhaul” of the justice system, criticising both his sentence and the “horror” his family experienced when they learned of his release.
He also condemned the many people who chose to celebrate Mr Small’s murder on social media.
“That man destroyed our daughter’s life. He murdered who she was in every meaningful way,” he said.
“The joyful, loving and kind-hearted daughter we once knew has been stolen from us.
“What remains is a young woman condemned to live with fear, with torment and with shadows that follow her from morning until night.
“She has been sentenced to carry this suffering for the rest of her life.”
The scene at Slievenabrock Avenue, Newcastle, Co Down (Jonathan McCambridge/PA)
He also acknowledged the suffering of the other family’s daughter, and how they had stood together as the painful details were relived during the trial.
On Mr Small’s sentence, with three years in custody and three he had yet to serve under supervised licence conditions, he said: “That is not justice. That is a mockery.”
“It is a statement from the court that our daughter’s stolen life, her broken future and her enduring pain are worth almost nothing.
“That sentence demonstrates that his freedom was deemed more important than her healing. It is an outrage and a disgrace.”
He continued: “Even though the courts acted within the remit of the law, that being said, an urgent overhaul is required.”
He called the social media commentary on Mr Small’s murder “sickening.”
“The hate, the venom, the smugness and the self-righteous display of other people’s pain for likes and shares is abhorrent.
“Let me be clear: his murder was not for anyone else to celebrate.
“That was not justice. That was not righteousness. That was not closure. His end was for God alone.”
The police cordon outside Sean Small’s home in the Slievenabrock Avenue area of Newcastle on August 25. PICTURE: ARTHUR ALLISON/PACEMAKER
Criticising a lack of media attention on his daughter’s wellbeing, he also described how she learned of his release on social media.
“That knowledge broke her all over again. It caused more mental anguish, reignited her fear, deepened her scars and spread stress and trauma throughout her entire family.”
A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Prison Service has previously explained that victims and their families must be registered with the Prisoner Victim Information Scheme to receive updates about a prisoner’s sentence and when they may be released.
A statement from the office of the Lady Chief Justice, Dame Siobhan Keegan, said that the sentencing framework which all judges must abide by is set in law by the Department of Justice.
This includes maximum sentencing for particular crimes as well as setting out a range of circumstances which a judge must consider before imposing a sentence.
At the time of Mr Small’s sentencing in 2022, Judge Gordon Kerr said that although he had a starting point of 14 years, he reduced the total sentence for Mr Small’s guilty pleas, his poor health and on medical evidence that prison “will be more onerous” for him compared to other inmates.
He also spoke of the serious consequences for both victims who had both suffered from PTSD as a result of his crimes.
While Mr Small had entered guilty pleas, Judge Kerr still said there was an “element of victim blaming” and that he had shown “limited insight” into the consequences of his actions.