A 'WICKED Fagin' who lured boys to his flat on a Bradford housing estate to sexually abuse them has been jailed for 13 years.

Paedophile Neil Watkin plied youngsters with cannabis, cigarettes and alcohol and gave them big cash handouts at the 'bolthole' he provided in Holme Wood.

Watkin, 48, stood impassively in the dock after he was brought from the cells to be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

He had been remanded in custody after a jury convicted him last month of sexually abusing two boys almost 15 years ago.

Watkin, of Allerton Road, Allerton, Bradford, was found guilty of an attempted serious sexual assault, ten counts of indecent assault and eight of gross indecency.

The police investigation began while he was serving a two and a half year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a Bradford boy he was taking to football training in the summer of 2010.

One of his earlier victims saw coverage of the case in the Telegraph & Argus and found the courage to come forward.

Watkin first sexually abused one of the boys on a trip to the cinema when he was 11 or 12.

The second youngster was assaulted when he was aged 12 to 16.

Judge Peter Benson said the victim's teenage years were marred by Watkin's wicked behaviour.

His flat at Kelso House, Sterling Crescent, Holme Wood, was a bolthole, harbouring boys who were committing minor criminal offences on the estate.

"In a sense, you were a Fagin figure but your motivation was not money but sexual gratification," the judge said.

"You deliberately groomed and corrupted two young boys and both have had their lives blighted."

One of Watkin's victims had suffered from depression for many years and the second had been an alcoholic since he was 12. He described his life as 'an existence'.

He had been unable to escape from Watkin because he relied on his money to feed his addiction to drink.

"This was abusive, manipulative and thoroughly wicked behaviour," Judge Benson said.

Watkin threatened to expose one of the young men as 'a rent boy' because of what he did to him as a child. He then felt compelled to let the abuse continue.

"You paid him considerable amounts of money to keep him under your control," Judge Benson said.

"Such conduct is wicked in the extreme. It has had a dreadful effect on your victims."

Watkin's denials of the offences had compelled the two men to give evidence against him in court.

Although both had found standing in the witness box a nerve-wracking ordeal, one told the judge: "I felt proud because I was telling the truth."

After the case, Detective Constable Emily Lawrence, of the Bradford District Safeguarding Unit, said: "It was Watkin's initial conviction for sexual offences against a young boy that led to others making allegations of a similar nature against him.

"I would like to thank these people for having the courage to come forward and hope that this lengthy sentence will give them some comfort.

"I also hope it will encourage other victims to come forward and speak to our specially trained officers, who will investigate all reports of sexual abuse thoroughly and sensitively, with the intention of bringing the offenders to justice."

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