A DEPRAVED sexual predator has been jailed for 21 years for a vile campaign of rape against two young girls.

Anthony Pattison, 39, bullied, bribed and corrupted the children, making them strip off their clothes before repeatedly violating them.

Pattison, of Barden Avenue, Buttershaw, Bradford, put his head in his hands and wept in the dock at Bradford Crown Court when he was sentenced yesterday.

Judge Peter Hunt labelled him an Offender of Particular Concern who may have to serve the full sentence behind bars. He cannot be freed before the half-way point and until the Parole Board approves his release.

Pattison was convicted by a jury by 10-2 majority verdicts of all 16 offences alleged against him.They included 12 counts of rape, two charges of sexual assault and two of engaging in sexual activity in front of a child.

Pattison’s solicitor advocate, Andrew Walker, said his mother was gravely ill and may not see him out in the community again.

During the trial, prosecutor Soheil Khan said Pattison began raping his first victim when she was seven or eight years old.

During one of the assaults he put his hand over her nose and mouth to stifle her cries. The girl, now in her mid-teens told how she cried and gasped for breath.

She was abused on numerous occasions at addresses in the Shipley and Little Horton areas.

On one occasion, Pattison raped her in a locked room and, on another, he slapped her across the face when she struggled, leaving a visible hand print.

The girl said: “My face was sore, so I had my hand on my face, and he shouted at me again. I was still crying.”

She went to bed at night not wanting to wake up, after crying herself to sleep.

Pattison’s second victim, a younger girl, said she screamed in pain while being abused. He bribed her with money not to say anything

She confided in a classmate at school what Pattison had done to her and a teacher was alerted.

Judge Hunt said Pattison was guilty of “gross sexual misbehaviour” against the first girl, starting when she was seven or eight and continuing over five years.

“She was coerced and bullied into complying with your depraved sexual demands,” he said.

Pattison’s behaviour was “predatory and corrupt.”

He had bribed the girl with money and physically assaulted her, slapping her hard across the face when she struggled.

Pattison’s second victim was particularly vulnerable and struggling emotionally. The abuse began when she was eight years old and lasted several months.

“You callously made her the object of your sexual gratification,” Judge Hunt told Pattison.

He had used perverted foul and vile language while raping her.

“You said you wanted her, at the age of ten or 11, to conceive your child,” the judge said.

Pattison was guilty of “a campaign of rape” that would live with both girls forever.

The judge made a Sexual Harm Prevention Order without limit of time.

After the case, Detective Constable Jodie Hayes, of Bradford District Safeguarding Unit, said: “I would like to thank the victims for their bravery in coming forward and bringing Pattison’s crimes to our attention.

“He repeatedly abused these two young girls over a sustained period of time and I hope the significant sentence he has been given will give them some comfort and help them to move forward with their lives.

“We also hope it will give other victims the confidence to come forward and engage with our specially trained officers, who will not only investigate every report sensitively and thoroughly, but will also support victims throughout the process.”