Man Locked Up For 'Horrifying' Child Abuse

A child abuser who drugged and raped three under-11s and forced them to sexually abuse each other while he watched has been jailed indefinitely.

Darren Mackrell, 45, subjected two boys aged eight and 10 and a nine-year-old girl to "an appalling and disgusting" six-hour ordeal at his flat in Southampton, Hampshire.

The judge told Mackrell he had "plumbed the depths of human depravity", deserved no mercy, and would spend at least 10 years in jail before he could even apply for parole.

He was warned he may never be released if he poses a danger to children, and was put on the sex offenders register for life.

The drug addict forced the children to strip naked, smoke cannabis and take amphetamine, temazepam and viagra. He raped all three and forced them to engage in sexual activity with him and each other.

He also played hardcore pornographic films on the television and threatened to hurt the youngsters when they tried to leave - even showing one boy a large hunting knife.

The abuse only ended when a mother managed to track her son down to Mackrell's flat and when she did not get a reply she called the police.

An officer saw the pornographic video playing on the television through the letterbox and he tried to break in as the mother "freaked out".

Eventually one of the boys opened the door and the three children fled and Mackrell was arrested. Two ran straight home and one boy stayed outside the flat with his mother.

The children have been left traumatised by what Mackrell did to them, with the girl unable to tell anyone what happened and another boy self-harming and writing suicide notes, the court heard.

The three, who cannot be named for legal reasons, went to his home after Mackrell got to know one of the boys at a nearby park.

Mackrell admitted 18 charges of raping the three youngsters, sexually assaulting them, causing them to engage in sexual activity, forcing them to watch a sexual act and administering drugs on April 21 this year.

Judge Gary Burrell QC said: "There is no room for mercy, Darren Mackrell, in a case as horrifying as this. What you did to these children was truly dreadful. You provided a reality to every parent's nightmare."