9:04 am, April 11, 2025
A used car dealer has been jailed for seven years after he admitted to coercing vulnerable young women into working as prostitutes in exchange for class A drugs.
Oliver MacCormack, 71, spent several years working in the motor trade in the Lisburn area but he was hiding an dark secret which saw him ‘manipulate and control’ female victims as young as 17.
The shamed car salesman previously pleaded guilty to 40 offences, including charges of human trafficking and controlling prostitution.
He also admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice, witness intimidation and offences of supplying class A drugs and yesterday (Apr 10) he appeared for sentencing at Belfast Crown Court.
The court heard that nine victims were involved in MacCormack’s case, one of whom never got to see her tormentor brought to justice after she tragically died of sepsis due to intravenous drug use.
Prosecutors outlined that the victims had vulnerabilities including drug addiction, homelessness and mental health issues.
MacCormack became the fourth man to be sentenced following a sexual exploitation investigation conducted by the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) modern slavery and human trafficking unit.
The court heard the women involved were heroin addicts and MacCormack would exploit their vulnerability to force them into prostitution in exchange for him supplying them with the drug.
Passing sentence, Judge Gordon Kerr KC said MacCormack, whose address was given as Maghaberry prison, used heroin as a means to control his victims.
The former car dealer appeared in court dressed in a grey suit and striped tie. At the conclusion of the hearing, some of the victims and their families shouted abuse at MacCormack, who did not react to their comments.
Half of MacCormack’s seven-year sentence will be served in jail and the other half on licence. However, the time he has already spent in prison – having been in custody since May 2022 – will be factored in.
‘I hated MacCormack so much’
After the sentencing, one of MacCormack’s victims described how her life was upended overnight, leaving her manipulated, controlled and dependent on drugs.
The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, said in a statement that MacCormack got her hooked on heroin and ‘orchestrated it that I became completely dependent on him to get my fix’.
She said: ‘One day I went from being employed in (a company), aged in my early 20s, to overnight becoming an advertised escort, a heroin addict waking up sick every day, and stealing from my family to buy heroin from him.
‘MacCormack manipulated me and used coercive control. He would supply me with heroin every day at the same place and at the same time.
‘However, if I refused to have sex with one of the sex-buyers he had set me up with, he would not sell me any heroin and would block my phone number, leaving me sick for days.
‘With MacCormack, I lost the right to say yes or no as a girl and as a woman.
‘Sex with paying customers just became so normal. I would wake up every day merely existing and not living.
‘I hated MacCormack so much, but he had me needing him because of his heroin. I was addicted to heroin for seven years because of MacCormack and, in that time, I was often in trouble with the police.’
She said she is now free from heroin and felt ‘stronger than I have in a long time’. ‘I will never let anyone treat me the way MacCormack did,’ she added.
‘MacCormack came between my mother, nanny and I. I was very close to my nanny and feel like I didn’t get to spend the time with her that I should have before her death.
‘I’m trying to do the best I can now. I have a great family. I will get through this and not let what MacCormack did to me define me.’
‘Girls have been used, controlled and treated appallingly’
Following the hearing, police paid tribute to MacCormack’s victims, who suffered ‘horrific exploitation’ at the hands of the pensioner.
PSNI Detective Inspector Rachel Miskelly said: ‘He groomed and encouraged them to become involved in sex work, and controlled their prostitution by arranging meetings with sex-buyers, transporting them to and from appointments.
‘The defendant himself also engaged in sexual acts with the individuals.
‘They formed part of a network of older local men who actively targeted young, vulnerable, local women for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
‘The women, who were mainly trafficked around the Greater Belfast area, were vulnerable due to mental health issues, homelessness and their dependency on drugs.
‘This horrific exploitation has happened by local men and on our own doorsteps.
‘They lined their pockets at the expense of young women while using them for their own sexual gratification. The girls have been used, controlled and treated appallingly.
PSNI Detective Inspector Rachel Miskelly urged other victims to come forward (Liam McBurney/PA)
‘It’s hard for most of us to truly imagine what trauma these girls have endured.’
She added: ‘These young women have been inspirational and I truly hope that others who may be suffering will be encouraged to come forward.
‘I promise you that we are here to listen and to help you, and to bring those who would seek to use and abuse to justice.
‘I’m also asking others to be mindful of the tell-tale signs of human trafficking. This isn’t something you can ignore, and if you see or hear any activity that causes you concern, please contact us on 101.’
Derek Brown, 61, was last month handed a six-year sentence for human trafficking, controlling prostitution for gain, sexual assault, paying for sexual services and drugs-related offences, including being concerned in the supply of a class A controlled drugs.
The police said one of Brown’s victims has also since died of a suspected overdose.
Meanwhile, 74-year-old Kenneth Harvey, of Old Road, Lisburn, was sentenced to two years in December for human trafficking and paying for sexual services. Two months earlier, he was sentenced to three years for similar offences.
Another pensioner, Robert Albert Rodgers, 79, of Antrim Road in Belfast, was given a two-year probation order in October after admitting brothel keeping and three counts of controlling prostitution for gain.
