Oliver James MacCormack, a 72-year-old man from the Lisburn area, was sentenced for a series of serious crimes spanning from 2015 to 2022, targeting vulnerable young women in the Greater Belfast area. He was convicted on 40 counts, including multiple instances of human trafficking, supplying Class A drugs, controlling prostitution for gain, intimidation, and perverting the course of justice. MacCormack preyed on women addicted to drugs, supplying them with illegal substances like heroin to make them dependent, and then grooming them into sex work and prostitution for his financial benefit.
One victim, Rebecca Whyte, described how she met MacCormack through a drug dealer and was quickly manipulated into addiction. 'I will never forget the first time getting in his car, I can smell it sitting here. He made it very clear what he liked and didn't like and that's how he wormed himself in,' she told BBC News. Within weeks, Whyte, who had never used drugs before, became 'absolutely hooked on heroin' and lost everything. MacCormack used the drugs as a tool to control her, forcing her into sexual acts with him and other men, withholding fixes if she refused. 'If you didn't have sex with him and the other men – you weren't getting your hit and it wasn't a hit to get off your head, it's to function,' Whyte said. She portrayed him as a 'calculative, manipulative' predator who ingratiated himself into victims' lives, even worming his way around their families and instilling fear through intimidation.
The court heard that there were nine victims, some as young as 17 when the offences began. Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan described MacCormack as a 'calculated abuser of vulnerable young women' who portrayed himself as a saviour rather than an exploiter. Charles MacCreanor KC, representing the Public Prosecution Service (PPS), argued that MacCormack treated the women 'like commodities to be sold' for financial gain, calling it the most serious case of its kind in Northern Ireland to date. Whyte labelled him a 'paedophile' due to the involvement of underage victims, stating, 'He is a predator, a paedophile as well. He instilled so much fear in us. I haven't just been left with mental scars, I have physical scars.'
Originally sentenced in April 2025 to seven years, with half in custody and half on licence, MacCormack had already served nearly three years and was due for release by November 2025. The PPS challenged this as 'unduly lenient', and on 23 September 2025, senior judges at the Court of Appeal increased the sentence to nine years, split equally between custody and licence. The judges emphasised the need for deterrence, stating, 'This was a case involving a suite of offending against vulnerable women which requires appropriate punishment to deter this type of behaviour in our community.' MacCormack was one of four men involved in the exploitation ring; Kenneth David Harvey, Derek Brown, and Robert Albert Rogers had been previously jailed.
Whyte expressed dissatisfaction with the increased sentence, saying, 'It's a life sentence for us regardless and personally I think it should be for him.' The case highlights systemic issues in addressing human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Northern Ireland, with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) involved in the investigation.