‘PREDATOR’ | 

NI business tycoon caught committing sex act in home of employee escapes jail

McMahon was filmed inside the couple’s bed completely naked, wearing the woman’s underwear on his head while masturbating.

Yesterday at 08:00

This is the £2m secret home of Liam McMahon who was caught on camera committing a sex act in the bed of an employee.

The disgraced millionaire businessman was caught by hidden cameras masturbating in the bed of his employee while she was out working in his shop.

McMahon was sentenced in Belfast Magistrates Court on Monday after pleading guilty to a charge of criminal damage and threatening and aggressive behaviour under the Stalking Act, following the incident on December 8, 2022.

He was snapped by our photographer at a hearing a week before despite him and his supporters using a number of umbrellas in a bid to hide his face from the cameras.

In court this week the 48-year-old escaped going to prison and it was stated he lives in Lisburn.

But we can reveal where he actually lives – a luxury private home complete with security gates, a series of security cameras and an intercom system.

It is understood that McMahon, who owns two convenience stores in Belfast, built the mansion from scratch around six years ago.

We aren’t revealing exactly where it is other than to say it’s situated in south Belfast in one of the most exclusive areas of Northern Ireland.

There was no response when we buzzed his house on Thursday morning but the irony of his home security wasn’t lost on us.

The source who told us McMahon lived here, rather than in Lisburn as was claimed in court, said he couldn’t believe what he had done.

“People in the area aren’t too happy that he’s living round here to be honest,” said the source.

“He gave an address of a house he owns in Lisburn but he lives in south Belfast. Look at the security he has round the house. He’s got a big black electric security gate.

“Nobody can get in without being buzzed in. There’s a massive camera at the gate so he can see who’s calling and there’s an intercom so he can decide whether you are getting buzzed in or not.

“It’s incredible how much he guards his own security and privacy because he didn’t give much thought to the privacy of that poor woman whose house he was breaking into.”

McMahon was caught red-handed last December after his employee, who managed his shop in west Belfast, was concerned someone was breaking into her property and moving things around or that she even had a poltergeist.

But the woman and her husband, who suspected something had been going on for several months, were horrified when their motion sensor camera caught McMahon, who had let himself into their home.

He was filmed inside the couple’s bed completely naked, wearing the woman’s underwear on his head while masturbating.

This week the couple were disgusted when he managed to escape going to prison after a judge handed him a probation order and ordered him to serve 90 hours’ community service.

District Judge Marshall said that McMahon had “only been thinking about himself” and his actions were “purely for sexual gratification” and she also questioned why he was not facing sexual offence charges.

McMahon was also given a five-year restraining order to make no deliberate contact or attempts at contact with the victim who had worked for him for 14 years.

A victim impact statement at Laganside Magistrates Court heard that she was now “living a life sentence” due to the impact McMahon’s actions had on her.

Following the comments made by the judge, the PPS were forced to release a statement explaining why he hadn’t been charged with sex offences.

A PPS spokesperson said: “All the evidence and circumstances of this case have been carefully considered at a senior level in the PPS.

“As part of this it was considered whether the circumstances of the case constituted a criminal offence under the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008.

“It was determined that the unusual offending in this case did not fall under the provisions of the Order, and that the charges of Threatening and Abusive Behaviour and Criminal Damage best reflected the facts of this case.

“We note the comments of the judge. It is our duty to apply the Test for Prosecution and to put before the court only those offences that provide a reasonable prospect of conviction.

“We remain satisfied that the offences before the court were the correct offences under the existing legislation and that our decision was taken in accordance with the Test for Prosecution.”

The Sunday World can also reveal McMahon will be extremely relieved not to have been subject to sex charges as it could have seen him placed on the sex offenders register which can make it more difficult when travelling to some countries.

A source told the Sunday World that McMahon is due to fly to Dubai in August where he stays at the luxury five-star Jumeirah Beach Hotel, although he will have to clear any travel with his probation officer.

“He’s a lucky boy he’s not behind bars,” said the source. “He goes to the Jumeirah Beach every year and he’s due to go back in a couple of weeks.

“It doesn’t seem right that he’s able to go on with his life so easily while that poor couple are obviously still traumatised by what he did.”

The Sunday World can reveal that seven days after he was caught carrying out his disgraceful act, McMahon resigned as the sole director of his lucrative company. And on the same day his wife was appointed as sole director of the business.

The court was told on Monday how on the morning of December 8, McMahon admitted to rifling the pockets of his employee and taking her keys.

While he was in the house her husband received a notification on his phone alerting him to someone being in their property, with his father-in-law then reported seeing McMahon leaving a short time later.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said that “she was living a life sentence” as a result of McMahon’s actions which were deemed to be a “violation of the highest degree”.

She and another family member were also forced to leave their jobs.

Speaking to Belfast Live in the wake of the court case, the couple talked about the huge impact that “predator” McMahon’s action had on them and how she no longer feels comfortable leaving her home alone.

They said that the defendant had “appeared comfortable” in carrying out the offences as he entered the couple’s bedroom naked and “went straight for her underwear drawer”.

The husband said: “He is a sicko and a predator and we think that this had been going on for months before we were able to catch him on camera, one week after we had them installed in our home.”

And his wife added: “While I am glad that this is now all over in the courts, this has been so traumatic. I don’t know if it is something that will ever leave me or my husband and I just want the world to know what this man is really like.”

A solicitor representing McMahon said that her client had expressed remorse and regret for his actions and that he was “ashamed and disgusted with himself”, but understood that this would have provided little consolation for the victim and her family.

She said that her client’s offences had also had a huge impact on his wife and children who have been “subject to humiliation” and had suffered a “severe punishment” due to his actions which she described as “reckless in the extreme”.