10 men jailed for 'horrific' historical sexual offences against two teenage boys

The men were convicted following a 12-week trial in May. The court heard how two separate victims had been left traumatised by the abuse. One of the victims was aged 15 at the time of the offences in 2002 and 2003, the second was between 14 and 15 at the time of the offences in 2009 and 2010; both were extremely vulnerable.

Between 2005 and 2010, the 14-year-old boy had been in local authority care. On December 19, 2009, aged 14, he failed to return from a family visit and was reported as a missing person and he was missing for a short period of time.

Enquiries conducted by the police while the boy was missing, established that he had been seen begging for money at New Street train station before being seen to leave with an older man, who was subsequently identified as 39-year-old unemployed Stephen Kelly, of Bournville, Birmingham. The boy was found by police 10 days later at Stephen Kelly's home. He told officers that during the 10 days he had been missing Stephen Kelly had sexually abused him and sold him to other men for sexual acts.

At this time none of the other men were identified and, after seeking advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, there was not enough evidence to bring charges against Kelly.

A few months later in 2010, the boy - now aged 15 - ran away from his care home several times and, due to concerns that he was being sexually exploited, he was made subject of two secure orders by Children's Services.

While in secure accommodation, the boy was given counselling support from Barnardos where he started to reveal the sexual abuse, in particular against unemployed Tahir Hussain, aged 34 of St Josephs Road, Ward End, Birmingham, whom he had met in February 2010 in Kent Street, Birmingham. The boy further disclosed Hussain had trafficked him to other men, and they along with Hussain had subjected him to further sexual abuse. At this time the other men were not identified.

In August 2010 Hussain had been served with a harbouring notice in respect of the boy and in August 2011 he was arrested by police in relation to the disclosure made to Barnardos. Hussain denied the allegations and subsequently no further police action was taken against him.

On August 18, 2010, following another 10-day missing episode, the same boy had been found in a hotel room in Birmingham with Michael Godbold ? a 58-year-old student photographer of Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush. A third party made allegations that Godbold had previously sexually assaulted the boy and taken indecent images of him. Goldbold was arrested in November 2010 in relation to these allegations, which he fully denied and no further action was taken by the police in respect of this matter.

In 2013 a review of the historic investigations was conducted by West Midlands Police Public Protection officers. A further approach was made to the victim - then aged 18 - who agreed to co-operate with the police review team. He provided further details of the abuse he had suffered and details which lead to the review team being able to identify 12 men.

In addition to Stephen Kelly, who was rearrested for the 2009 offences, officers were able to identify some of the men who the boy had been sold to and sexually abused by, these were; Kevin Tudor, 55 from Erdington, Birmingham, and caretaker Peter Joynes, 58, of Canberra Way, Highgate, Birmingham.

The sexual exploitation involving Hussain resulted in his re-arrest and the following men identified as being responsible for sexually abusing the boy: retired farm manager and former Warwickshire Police special constable Ronald Potter, 78, of Tippers Lane, Fillongley, Coventry, former bus driver Ian Prestleton, 53 of High Haden Road, Sandwell, driver Alan Priest, 63 of Haywood Bridge, Halesowen, and unemployed Ashley Sherrington, 24, of Dawlish Drive, Bentley, Stoke-on-Trent.

Michael Godbold was also re-arrested for the August 2010 sexual abuse allegations, and following the recovery of indecent images of the boy, unemployed Robert Bailey 27, of Erdington, Birmingham was also arrested.

The review team also identified a further victim of Ronald Potter. The boy at the time of the sexual abuse in 2002 and 2003 was 15, vulnerable and homeless. Ronald Potter sexually abused the boy and later introduced him to other men. This led to Potter being charged with two counts of indecent assault against this victim. Both victims knew Ronald Potter by his pseudonym John Potter.

Two men were found not guilty.

Assistant Chief Constable Carl Foulkes said: "The two men ? who were boys at the time these offences were committed ? showed incredible bravery throughout the investigation and court process. They both gave evidence against their abusers and this cannot have been an easy thing to do.

"It has been a long and complex process to bring these men to trial when initially it was believed that there wasn't enough evidence. We have now seen justice for those subjected to horrific offences.

"These cases were horrific, as a force we have learned from the original investigation, the review and lots of other elements of this case. I hope that this case in particular shows the public we won't give up on survivors of abuse, no matter how many years we have to go back, who we have to seek out ? we will do everything we can to get justice.

"West Midlands Police has moved on significantly in recent years and we take all reports of sexual abuse very seriously. I would encourage anyone who has suffered to report it to us or to an independent sexual violence advisor, who can offer guidance and support."

The sentences are as follows:

Tahir Hussain ? one count of sexual activity with a child and one count of penetrative sexual activity with a child. ? Seven years concurrent.

Stephen Kelly ? two counts of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. - Eight years concurrent.

Kevan Tudor - arranging or facilitating child prostitution, two counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child. ? Nine years concurrent.

Peter Joynes ? sexual activity with a child and arranging or facilitating child prostitution. ? Four years concurrent.

Ronald Potter ? two counts of indecent assault. ? Three years concurrent.

Ian Prestleton ? sexual activity with a child. ? Three years concurrent.

Allan Priest ? two counts of rape and penetrative sexual activity with a child. ? Life (minimum seven years)

Ashley Sherrington ? rape. ? Nine years concurrent.

Michael Godbold ? arranging or facilitating child prostitution, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, penetrative sexual activity with a child, making indecent images of a child and four counts of possessing a controlled drug. ? 11 years concurrent.

Robert Bailey - arranging or facilitating child prostitution, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, penetrative sexual activity with a child and making indecent images of a child. ? Seven years concurrent.

Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton councils along with West Midlands Police are working together to raise the profile of child sex offences across the region. The partnership's See Me Hear Me campaign aims to increase people's understanding of these offences and how to spot the warning signs in a child or young person's behaviour.

A one-stop shop for information, help and advice for young people, parents and carers, professionals and schools, can be found at www.seeme-hearme.org.uk