Sex attacker jailed for five years

A SUFFOLK sex attacker who preyed on young boys was a victim of abuse when he was a child, a court heard.

Paul Bacon, 47, was jailed by Ipswich Crown Court for five years after a jury found him guilty of touching an eight-year-old boy's genitals.

The boy was Bacon's 11th direct child abuse victim, said prosecutor Robert Sadd. He added that other children had been abused by Bacon indirectly by him taking indecent photographs of them.

Bacon, of Suffolk Road, Lowestoft, had previous convictions dating back to the 1980s including indecent assault on males under the age of 16 and taking indecent photographs of children.

He had received lengthy prison sentences and rehabilitation orders including three separate sex offending programs. However the probation service stated that Bacon was “not able to put his learning into practise”.

David Pippersgill, mitigating, said: “He states that he was sexually abused by his older brother who was only two years older. When he was between nine and 12 his older brother would touch the defendant and engage him in other sexual activities while in bed and he believes that had an impact on his mental state over the years and now”.

The jury found Bacon, whose fiancé supported him from the public gallery, guilty of indecently assaulting a child under the age of 13. Judge Devaux said Bacon was a “serious risk to the public” and this was made worse by the age gap between the defendant and the victim.

He said: “You targeted this vulnerable child from a vulnerable family.”

Bacon was jailed for five years and told the parole board would only release him after two-and-a-half years if it decided Bacon was no longer a threat to the public.

He was put on licence for a minimum of 10 years and told to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

Bacon was disqualified from working with children forever and banned from being with children under the age of 16 unless he was accompanied by another adult.