A man from Lancashire who groomed a Belfast teenager online and then travelled from England to sexually abuse her, which he filmed, was handed an eight-year sentence today.
Michael Harry Costar (52) was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court by Judge Patrick Lynch KC, who divided the eight-year term equally between prison and licence.
From Tenby Close in Blackburn, Costar admitted a total of 29 offences involving the young girl which were committed over a period spanning from December 2009 to December 2012.
The young victim was aged 13 when she was first contacted by Costar, who was then aged 39, on the social network ‘Tagged.’
Following a period of online grooming, Costar travelled from England to Belfast and on the first occasion they met, he took her to a hotel in the city where he sexually abused her.
The forklift driver repeated this behaviour several times by travelling from England to Belfast to meet the teenager and abuse her.
On one occasion he turned up at her school and during another incident he called at her house.
Over this period, he also took indecent images and videos of the girl — some of which depicted him sexually abusing her.
Costar’s offending came to an end when the girl turned 16 —but he did try and contact her on another online forum.
His criminal activity with the Belfast victim only emerged in March 2023 when he was arrested by police in England.
He was found to be in possession of digital images of his teenage victim which he admitted showing to friends and he made full admissions to police regarding this offending following his arrest.
He was brought back to Northern Ireland, appeared in Belfast Magistrates Court on March 16 last year — and was back in court today for sentencing.
Costar admitted a total of 29 charges including meeting a child following sexual grooming, sexual activity involving penetration by an adult with a child, causing a child to engage in sexual activity and multiple charges of both making and possessing indecent images of a child.
Judge Lynch revealed that Costar told a probation officer he had a sexual attraction to young girls which he branded “concerning.”
Turning to the victim, the Judge said he had read and considered a statement made by her regarding the impact Costar’s offending has had on her.
In her statement, the victim said: “My life is different than what it would have been had I never met Michael Costar.
“As a young child, I lied to my parents, my siblings and my friends because I felt I had to see him and do what he wanted me to do.
“He made such a deal of how he travelled all the way from England to Northern Ireland to see me and he wouldn’t accept ‘no’ for an answer.
“This has impacted my whole life since then.
“My education suffered, he knew where I went to school. There was only one gate so I couldn’t avoid him when he decided to meet me after school and I missed study time because he took me away.”
She also spoke of how the abuse she suffered as a child has affected her relationship with her family and how she dresses as well as both her work and social life.
Citing the element of grooming, Costar’s “planning and pre-meditation and the cynical manipulation of a young child” and the recording of the abuse as aggravating factors, Judge Lynch told Costar the harm he caused was “high.”
Also noted by Judge Lynch was Costar’s clear criminal record.
As well as imposing the eight-year sentence, Judge Lunch made Costar the subject of a seven-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) which will come into effect when he is released from prison and he was placed on the Sexual Offences Register for an indefinite period.
The terms of the SOPO include a ban on Costar communicating or having any contact with children, contacting the victim in this case or her family and possessing a mobile or computer that has internet access unless approved by his designated risk manager.