A 13-year-old girl who was groomed and sexually abused by Stephen Lee Hallmark has said her life has been 'destroyed'. The 28-year-old from Liverpool was jailed for six years at Bolton Crown Court on Thursday, August 20.
Grooming on social media
Hallmark, of Allington Street in the St Michael's area of south Liverpool, contacted the girl on Facebook when she was 13. He then began messaging her on Snapchat despite her having told him her age.
He falsely claimed he was 20 and persuaded the girl to tell her family he was just 15, police said. He told officers in interview that he did not want her to think he was an 'old b*****d'.
Just a month after they began speaking, Hallmark arranged to meet her in person and began sexually abusing her when they met at her home. Sexual activity occurred during three further visits over the following three months, after which he was arrested.
Attempts to silence the victim
As police investigated his crimes, Hallmark tried to discourage the girl from speaking to police, telling her to 'go no comment' and threatening to kill himself if she revealed what had happened.
He was convicted of meeting a girl under 16 following grooming and four counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child.
Victim impact statement
In a moving victim impact statement read to the court and released by police, the victim spoke of the devastating impact of the abuse. She said: 'Since what happened to me, I feel like my life has been destroyed. I don't think I will ever fully heal from what happened. I'm constantly questioning myself and being tormented by flashbacks.'
'I struggle to do anything now without it constantly being on my mind. I hardly go to school anymore and don't like leaving the house without my mum or dad.'
'I hate looking at myself in the mirror or in the shower because it's a reminder that he's touched my body, and I also struggle with nightmares and sleeping because I just can't stop thinking and replaying everything.'
'One of the hardest things for me has been grieving the person I thought Ste was. Having to realise that it was wrong and that it wasn't love, just lies, makes me feel weak and gullible for believing him.'
'Even though I know it, I still question whether he ever loved me. He made me believe that I was the only person who genuinely cared about him, and he would tell me about how bad his life had been and how I made it better and meant everything to him.'
'This made me not want to say anything because I felt like it would make his life worse again and like I would be hurting him by getting him into trouble.'
She added: 'He has taken something away from me that I can never get back. I opened up to him and was vulnerable with him because I genuinely thought he loved and cared about me.'
'I still struggle with the fact that I believed his lies, and it's made me question people and even myself. Even when the case is over, what happened to me will stay with me for the rest of my life.'
Sentence and police comment
Hallmark was jailed for six years. He was made subject to a 15-year sexual harm prevention order, a 15-year restraining order, and he will remain on the sex offenders' register for life.
Detective Constable Alex Dibden, from Bolton's Child Protection Investigation Unit, said: 'I want to thank the survivor for bravely coming forward and supporting our investigation. She has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings.'
'Stephen Hallmark exploited a child for his own sexual gratification after deliberately establishing contact with her online and arranging a series of meetings, despite knowing she was only 13 years old.'
'Even after his offending came to light, he attempted to manipulate the teenager and discourage her from speaking to police.'
'Thanks to the survivor's courage and the evidence gathered during our investigation, Hallmark has now been held accountable for his actions.'
'This case should serve as a reminder to parents and carers to have regular conversations with young people about their online activity. Offenders can use social media and messaging platforms to build trust, manipulate children and arrange contact in the real world.'
'If you have concerns about a child's online activity or believe they may be at risk of exploitation, please report it to police.'
