He minded guns for a gang but his crimes only became more sinister

Liam Brannan went on to repeatedly sexually abuse a girl when she was aged as young as 12

A teenager minded guns and drugs on behalf of a gang but his crimes would only become more sinister. Liam Brannan held firearms including a shotgun which was used during a shooting on behalf of those higher up the chain.

Years later, he would appear in the dock of a crown court once more after repeatedly sexually abusing a girl who was aged as young as 12 and “silencing her through fear”. The dad-of-three continues to maintain his innocence but ended up with his head in his hands in the dock while staring down the barrel of a prison sentence measuring nearly two decades.

Liverpool Crown Court heard this week that Brannan’s assaults began with him rubbing his foot on the complainant’s leg before grabbing her breasts over clothing. The 33-year-old, formerly of Antonio Street in Bootle, further assaulted her in his car by touching her thigh while giving her lifts and while the two were collecting food together.

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Olivia Beesley, prosecuting, described how he went on to force the girl to perform oral sex upon him. When she “protested”, Brannan told her: “No, you’re doing it. You can’t just do it and then stop.”

He then attempted to have sex with the youngster and only relented when she informed him that she was on her period. But the pervert then raped her on a subsequent occasion after “telling her she had no choice”.

The victim eventually “confessed to her family” during 2022. Brannan was arrested three days later, but “denied all the allegations” when he was interviewed by the police.

In a statement which was read out to the court on her behalf, the complainant said: “I’m just not who I was before. What happened to me forced me to grow up.

“I was a child who should have been able to do what children do. Instead, I am left trying to understand what has happened to me. My childhood was taken from me. I know I’m not the person I was.

“I just wanted to die. One day, holding all of this in got too much for me. I finally got the courage to tell my family what happened to me.

“There were times when I didn’t even want to be alive because of what he did to me. I could be sat in a room with all of my family and not really be there. I would just think, how could he do this to a kid? I wanted to scream out loud, but I couldn’t.”

Brannan has four previous convictions, but none for sexual offences. The ECHO previously reported in 2010 that the then 19-year-old was jailed for seven years after letting a gang use his home as a safehouse for their guns and drugs.

He allowed up to £30,000 of heroin and cocaine to be cut, mixed, packaged and stored at the address over the space of five months. When officers raided the address in January that year, they seized a loaded semi-automatic shotgun and a rifle with 75 rounds of ammunition as well as up to £16,000 worth of illicit substances.

Both firearms had been stolen from a legitimate collector during a burglary in August 2009 and were in working condition. The former weapon was subsequently used during an incident on Cherry Lane in Anfield.

The court heard on this occasion that Brannan was “forced to become involved by a gang who threatened to hurt him and his family”. He also outlined how members of the organised crime group would make drop offs at his property twice a week by October 2009, matters having “spiralled” after he had agreed to mind a quantity of drugs for seven days in order to “pacify” the “more criminally sophisticated people”.

Sarah Holt, defending, said on his behalf during his latest appearance: “This is a difficult mitigation exercise. The defendant is resolute in maintaining his innocence.

“His three young boys are too young to understand anything at present, other than the fact that their dad has disappeared from their lives effectively. He was a formal carer for his mother.

“This was someone who had been with his long term partner, and they could be described as childhood sweethearts. He was a very involved and active father in the lives of those three boys.”

Brannan was convicted of two charges of rape and nine counts of sexual assault by a jury following a trial. Ms Holt acknowledged “disgraceful behaviour” from members of his family in the public gallery after the verdict was returned last month, but said that this “was not instigated by him” and that her client instead sat with his “head in his hands in shock”.

These supporters were told not to return to court for his sentencing as a result. Brannan’s counsel added: “It was not something he wanted. It only succeeded in making an already very difficult situation even worse. That was nothing to do with him.”

Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a dark green Montirex t-shirt on Monday, Brannan was jailed for 17 years. Sentencing, Judge Gary Woodhall said: “You repeatedly told her not to tell anyone. You said it was your secret.

“She described how this offending robbed her of her childhood, how you silenced her through fear. She feels unable to talk about what has happened to her. She has uncontrollable anger. She suffers from extreme anxiety and panic attacks.

“It seems that there are no other possible explanations for your behaviour, other than sexual gratification. You are described as showing a complete lack of victim empathy. You continue to deny the offences and label your victim a liar.”

Brannan will be required to serve two thirds of this sentence before becoming eligible for release. He was also handed a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order, both of which will run indefinitely, as well as being told to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

Merseyside Police’s Detective Inspector Carla Cross said following the hearing: “I want to acknowledge the bravery and courage of the victim for reporting the offences to us. I hope this sentencing shows that time is no barrier to reporting sexual offences and that we take every report extremely seriously.

“Brannan is clearly a predator who targeted his victim over a number of years. He also denied the offences and forced her to go through a trial and relive the trauma. I sincerely hope that today’s sentencing brings her some comfort now that justice has been done.”

Constable Tasmin Windle added: “Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting children from sexual abuse and those who seek to do them harm. We have specialist officers who investigate such crimes, and provide full support to victims and their families.

“If you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, or know of a child being abused, please come forward and report this to police. We take all such reports extremely seriously and if you can find the courage to come forward and speak to us, our specialist officers will treat you with sensitivity and compassion.”