Paedophile carried out series of horrific sex attacks against children in Leeds over the last decade

The extreme abuse perpetrated by the sick 59-year-old on his victims went on for years.

The abuse came to an end after the depraved attacker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was finally arrested earlier this year by police officers.

His vile behaviour began more than a decade ago and became increasingly insidious over the years, Leeds Crown Court heard.

The 59-year-old pleaded guilty to 18 separate counts of sexual abuse, including sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, assault by penetration and rape.

At his sentencing on November 29, the court heard graphic details about the trauma he put his victims through, as well as distressing accounts of the impact it has had on their lives.

The paedophile began sexually abusing children more than a decade ago. His first victim reported the attacks to West Yorkshire Police, the court heard.

But prosecuting barrister Nick Adlington said: “For reasons that are not known, no further action was taken by the police.”

The defendant continued abusing children following the first incident. Mr Adlington said that, in another attack, the paedophile made vile comments to another victim before raping them.

The prosecutor said the attacker told his victim he didn't want them to "be innocent anymore".

More allegations were reported to police last year, which led to his arrest earlier this year.

Heartbreaking victim impact statements were read out in court, one of which said: “As a result of what happened to me, I often feel overwhelmed with emotions.

“Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m feeling and this can be confusing. I sometimes feel stuck in the past and I can’t do anything about it. I feel helpless.

“I find I struggle to talk about what happened to me because it all feels too big and out of the ordinary for someone my age.”

Another victim said: “I have nightmares about what happened to me and I’m often scared about the future effects of my trauma. In part, due to what happened to me, I’m now scared of forming relationships and being available to people because I’m scared they won’t accept me.

“As a child, I suffered something that none of my friends could relate to or help me with. Now when I look back, I know that my innocence was taken away from me.”

Timothy Jacobs, mitigating, said the defendant was “committed” to understanding what led him to his criminality and that he had been well-behaved while in custody.

Judge Ray Singh said: “There will undoubtedly be long-term psychological and emotional distress caused to the victims. It’s very likely they will need professional support to deal with the abuse.

“The impact will remain with them for the rest of their lives.”

The defendant was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was also made the subject of a lifelong sexual harm prevention order.