The 58-year-old pub manager raped an eight-year-old girl and threatened to kill her if she told anyone

The father of four has been sentenced to an extended prison term of 21 years after he sexually assaulted several young girls in Greater Manchester and held a knife to his eight-year-old victim’s neck

A pub owner who raped an eight-year-old girl then threatened to kill her if she told anyone she had been jailed for 21 years.

Carl Marland, 58, sexually abused scores of young girls while he ran a pub in Greater Manchester, providing them with gifts of clothing, money and drugs, reports Manchester evening news.

He once held a knife to his youngest victim’s neck, aged eight, and told a teenager they “could be together” when she was 16, a court heard.

Yesterday a judge handed an extended sentence of 21 years, including 17 years in prison and an additional four years on licence, telling the father-of-four he had caused “serious psychological harm” and saying she believed there was “significant risk” . that he becomes a criminal again.

Prosecutor Vanessa Thomson told Manchester Crown Court that Marland had paid £75 a month for an iPhone 12 contract for a victim and she would be driving around in his car where some of the abuse took place.

Marland threatened to kill himself if a teenage victim didn’t express his love for him, the court heard. While shopping at a shopping center in Greater Manchester, he pulled his pants down in front of the girl.

Marland offered another victim money if she spoke to him on Snapchat and “kept him busy.” The court heard that he groomed the then 15-year-old girl by offering her cannabis and cocaine.

After becoming suspicious of gifts her daughter received in the mail, the mother of one victim found “inappropriate” messages from Marland on her daughter’s phone. Police and social services were alerted and he was arrested in London in January 2021.

Officers also uncovered videos Marland secretly filmed of one of the girls undressing. In one clip he spoke about sex with a victim. Marland attempted to convince officers that he was impotent and “unable to do the things he was accused of”.

Marland previously pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child, three counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, two counts of indecent photographs of a child, three counts of inducing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and two counts of voyeurism .

A jury convicted him of an additional 11 counts after a trial last year. There were four counts of rape of a child, five counts of sexual assault on a child resulting in a child witnessing a sexual act and one count of assault on a child through penetration.

In a statement on the victim’s impact, the mother of the youngest victim said her daughter had become “emotionally unstable and self-conscious” and could often be heard crying at night.

She added, “The pain I go through every day knowing I can’t take away from her what she’s been through is excruciating.” Another victim told the court she doesn’t feel comfortable around men safer and could no longer leave the house unaccompanied.

Mitigatingly, Michael Goldwater told the court that Marland had had a “perfectly credible working life” as a bartender prior to the crimes. He worked in a total of 34 pubs – two of them in Spain – over a period of 30 years and helped run Pubwatch programmes.

“Until that happened, no one questioned his character behavior,” Mr. Goldwater said.

“I will not speculate as to what caused a man his age to behave as the jury found him guilty.”

Marland must serve two-thirds of his 17-year sentence before he can be considered for parole.

Judge Rachel Smith said: “I believe it is necessary to issue an extended sentence to protect the public going forward. You will not be released for some time.”

Marland, of Ilford, East London, was also the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order in relation to all four victims.