Horse-trading perv Mark McGurk fell out with horse-trading perv pal Harry Evans for stabbing his horse

We can reveal 23-year-old Evans, who was convicted of voyeurism last week, used to trade horses and socialise with convicted child sex offender McGurk - who's also due in court for stabbing a horse which needed to be put down by a vet.

And we can now reveal that horse actually belonged to Harry Evans.

McGurk, from Cookstown, was convicted of having sex with a child, having originally been charged with rape, and was jailed for 15 months a fortnight ago.

Within days his former best mate, sleazy Harry Evans from Ballyronan Road, Magherafelt, appeared at Derry Magistrates Court where he was convicted of passing round a video of a woman performing a sex act on him in a toilet cubicle.

We can reveal the dirty duo were once inseparable but came to blows last year - and could potentially be reunited in Maghaberry Prison when Evans is sentenced in May.

Sources have told us Evans and McGurk had been drinking together in a pub in Bellaghy, south Derry, when an argument boiled over and McGurk was effectively chucked out the pub window.

It's believed shortly after that McGurk was involved in a shocking incident where a horse belonging to Evans was stabbed.

The incident was filmed and sent to Evans. The horse was later put down due to its injuries and McGurk is due to appear in court later this month from Maghaberry Prison on the horse cruelty charge.

"Harry Evans and Mark McGurk were best friends," said a source who knows them both. "They used to trade horses but neither have a very good reputation in the horse industry.

"In fact, there are a number of online campaigns to have Harry Evans banned from trading horses.

"But he fell out with McGurk and things turned very nasty."

As revealed by this paper last year, District Judge Michael Ranaghan warned he would impose the maximum penalty available if McGurk continued to contest the charges.

Lawyers acting for McGurk applied at Dungannon Magistrates Court this week to have his bail revoked in the horse case.

That indicates a likely change of plea and would mean when he's sentenced he'll have "time served" to count in his favour as he's already in jail for sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

In that case, a Crown Court judge told McGurk: "She was a schoolgirl and you were a fully grown man. She was young and vulnerable. Even at this late stage, you appear to have difficulty in recognising the impact on her."

McGurk had the cheek to whine about press coverage in this newspaper but the judge told him: "You are the author of your own misfortune."

McGurk attended a birthday party in Cookstown on October 5, 2019 and became intoxicated on alcohol and cocaine.

The victim was also at the party and when it ended, she joined McGurk in a male's car for "a lap around the town".

During this they stopped at a shop where McGurk purchased condoms, initially telling police the victim did this, although later corrected that.

They travelled to McGurk's home where he and the victim got out, but the other male drove off.

Her phone battery ran out, but McGurk stated he would get her home.

However, once indoors, sex took place and his victim was left with serious mental health issues as a result of the incident.

After he was jailed, the young victim spoke to the Sunday World along with her mother and said she was just "cried with relief" when the judge sent him to prison.

Now Evans is facing a potential prison sentence too after he was convicted of voyeurism at a contested hearing at Derry Magistrates Court after the victim gave distressing evidence.

The woman described meeting Evans, who she knew vaguely knew, at an event in July 2019 and he bought her a few drinks.

She claimed Evans followed her into a toilet cubicle but she managed to push him out and lock the door. When she opened the door to leave, he re-entered.

She told the court: "He was kissing me and pulling my hair, in a sexual way as opposed to violent, but I had already pushed him out. I didn't want him in the toilet."

She said in order to get him away, she performed a sex act which he filmed on his phone.

There was text contact between the pair for a few days and Evans asked her to go for a drinks. She declined and asked about the video which he assured had been deleted.

Months later, she met a friend of Evans who showed her the video on his phone, having sent it to himself after accessing Evans' phone. The friend said others had seen it.

She said: "I felt disgusted and ashamed. My initial thought was for my children and if there's a video out there of me, they could see it."

Evans has been ordered to return for sentencing on May 6.