A 49-year-old man has been cleared of raping and sexually abusing two boys.

A jury at Bradford Crown Court yesterday acquitted Patrick Kerin of 14 offences – nine of rape and five of indecent assault.

He was cleared earlier in the trial on the direction of Judge James Goss QC of two charges of rape and one of indecent assault.

Kerin, 49, a former Bradford man who now lives in Persimmon Walk, Newmarket, Suffolk, was accused of bribing the boys with sweets, money, cigarettes and alcohol to keep them quiet.

But he always strongly denied that he had ever molested them.

He told the jury his health was too poor for such behaviour. He gave evidence that he was too crippled with rheumatoid arthritis to have sexually abused the youngsters.

Earlier in the case, Kerin said he had “no sexual contact whatsoever” with the boys and could hardly undress himself, let alone molest the youngsters.

Kerin, who lived in the Woodside area of Bradford for many years, told the jury he had been left with health complications after suffering a heart attack. He took strong painkillers and his mobility was limited.

He said he worked for a builders’ merchant in Bradford but ill health forced him to give up his job. He now lived with a woman partner and they had been together for six years.

Asked if he ever gave one of the boys money for sex, Kerin said he was on Incapacity Benefit and Income Support at the time and had no spare cash. Kerin had also denied all the allegations when he was interviewed by police. He said one boy was a problem child, troublesome, drunk and violent.

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