MY CHILD, MY BABY, MY SON

Man jailed for prostituting boy

A 14-year-old boy was groomed for sex and "sold" at a fast-food restaurant to a paedophile ring.

For the next six days, the youth was taken across England and subjected to "degrading" sex acts, a court was told.

His ordeal came to an end when he was reported missing after failing to come back from school - leading to the arrest of two men.

Nathan Eyre, 38, of Leeds, was jailed for eight years for grooming the boy and selling him to Raymond Hawthorne, the leader of a paedophile ring.

Hawthorne, 40, from Manchester, was jailed for seven years after admitting a range of offences.

Leeds Crown Court was told that the boy was subjected to a "blur" of sexual abuse.

'Quite absurd'

The judge criticised his lack of sentencing powers after hearing how the boy was groomed for sex.

Mr Justice Holland said the maximum seven-year sentence for people living off the earnings of prostitutes was "quite absurd".

He sentenced Eyre to just five years because he had to take into account the guilty plea. Eyre was also given three years for conspiring with Hawthorne to sell the boy.

Leslie Loram, 50, of Rochdale - "one of Hawthorne's best customers" - was jailed for three and a half years after admitting two serious sexual offences and one of indecent assault on the 14-year-old boy.

Neil Davey QC, for the prosecution, told the court the young victim "serviced so many clients in so many parts of the country and in so many different ways it became impossible for him to remember how many men he had serviced or in what circumstances."

Text message

One of Hawthorne's "customers" was found guilty of conspiring with him to commit indecent assault on the 14-year-old.

The jury heard Hawthorne had sent Barry Carman a text message saying he had a 14-year-old boy who was the "cutest" he had ever had.

The court was told Carman, 56, from Regent Street, Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, sent a text message back saying: "When is he working?"

Carman is due to be sentenced at a date to be fixed

Another client, David Riley, also 56, of Eccles, Manchester, pleaded guilty to indecent assault and was given a two and a half year sentence.

A further defendant, Eric Groves, 44, of Shifnal, Shropshire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit indecent assault at a previous hearing and is due to be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court at a date to be fixed.

After the hearing, Det Insp Paul Jeffrey, of the Leeds child and public protection unit, said he was still "stunned" about what the men had done.

He said officers became increasingly concerned when it transpired a much larger group of men were involved, living across the country in Lancashire, Bedfordshire, Merseyside, Shropshire and Leicestershire.

Mr Jeffrey explained that Eyre "sold" the boy to Hawthorne at a fast food restaurant on the M606 roundabout in Bradford.

"I remain stunned and in a state of disbelief about how these people view children," Mr Jeffrey continued.

"They see nothing wrong with buying and selling children for sexual gratification."