A twisted paedophile who raped a little girl "hundreds of times" and later murdered a pregnant mum began his evil lifestyle when he was just 14 years old.
Michael McGrane, 62, took advantage of his role as a trusted GP to drug and molest multiple female patients while working in Brisbane in the 1990s. Among his victims was seven months pregnant Yuen Ling Chan, 29, who reported McGrane to the Australian Health Rights Commission in December 1996. When the "depraved, evil" doctor found out what she had done, he visited her flat and injected her with a lethal dose of morphine.
Her body was discovered in January 1997, and while it was initially suspected the mum had taken her own life, further investigations revealed the circumstances were inconsistent with suicide or voluntary drug use.
READ MORE: Dean Kelly who covered up Rhys Jones' murder found dead
READ MORE: Woman had no idea her boyfriend was dangerous until it was too late
McGrane denied murder, but was found guilty at a trial in 2001. In 2003, ahead of several failed appeals against his conviction, he admitted sexually abusing nine other female patients, at least four of whom were drugged. He was further convicted of seven counts of indecent assault and six counts of administering a stupefying drug with intent to commit indecent assault.
McGrane was 35-years-old when he committed the murder of Yeun Ling Chan. But his life of crime had in fact begun two decades earlier when he was still in his teens, when he sexually abused a little girl after grooming her with presents and sweets.
The vile predator continued his campaign of abuse throughout the 1970s and 80s, sexually assaulting and raping the girl "hundreds of times". He denied the allegations and claimed they were "maliciously motivated by money", but was found guilty of multiple counts of rape and indecent assault following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court last month.
This followed another conviction in December 2022, when the 62-year-old, who was deported to the UK following his release from prison in 2013, was found with 1,600 indecent images of children.
Sentencing him to 23 years behind bars on Monday, November 13, judge Robert Trevor-Jones said: "Your history shows a depraved, evil individual."
Detective inspector Rob Pritchard said: “This sentence follows an investigation to bring McGrane before the courts so that he pays for utterly depraved actions. Thanks to the determination and bravery of his victim, McGrane will now spend a considerable amount of time behind bars for his actions.
“Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting children from sexual abuse and those who seek to do them harm.
“As you can imagine for victims of such an appalling crime, the impact on them is significant and long-lasting. I hope this sentence provides some comfort in knowing they did the right thing by reporting McGrane’s heinous crime to us.
“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 we have specially trained officers who will treat you with sensitivity and compassion.”
Get the latest news from Merseyside's courts by signing up to our newsletter