Wakefield pervert with history of abuse sexually assaulted boy with special needs

Dennis Bostock began to groom the 16-year-old "as soon as he met him", Leeds Crown Court heard this week. He would be in daily contact and send him innuendo-laden messages, particularly after he bought him a phallic-shaped stick of rock from Blackpool.

In August 2021, Bostock invited the teenager to his home where he asked him to try on lingerie, prosecutor Adam Walker told the court. The boy did, over his clothes, before Bostock touched his bottom. It left the boy upset, but he did not tell his mother until October.

Bostock, 73, denied any wrongdoing and stood trial at Leeds Magistrates' Court, where he was found guilty. The case was then sent to crown court for sentencing this week.

It was heard that Bostock, of Stockingate, South Kirkby, has two previous conviction for eight offences. This includes four offences of indecent assault and three of gross indecency from 1978, which he denied and was found guilty of after trial. There was also a further offence of gross indecency in 1989. He received fines in each case.

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His barrister, Erin Kitson-Parker conceded there was little mitigation for his latest offending, having denied it, but said he now "accepted what he did was wrong", and that shame had led him to persist with his denials.

Scathing in his assessment, Judge Ray Singh told Bostock: "You are a paedophile, it's as blunt as that. Your previous convictions related to a number of complainants who were all 17 years of age. You took the matter to trial in 1978.

"There's not one shred of remorse. You still maintain your innocence of matters you were convicted of in 1978. You said this [latest offence] was a wrongful conviction."

He jailed him for 30 months and gave him a lifelong restraining order to keep him away from the victim, and several others. He is also banned from having unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.