A former physics teacher who plied boys with drugs and alcohol to sexually abuse them has been jailed for 12 years.

David Cole, 57, was today convicted by a jury at Bradford Crown Court of 13 charges of raping and indecently assaulting a child aged six to 13.

Cole had already served two prison sentences, in 2001 and 2013, for sexually abusing two boys.

All the offences took place when Cole, a former head of department physics teacher, was living in the Keighley area in the late 1990s to 2001.

He was found guilty of three offences of raping the child, when he was aged 11 to 13, and ten sample counts of indecently assaulting him numerous times when he was aged between six and ten.

Cole, now of Durrant Road, Poole, Dorset, was given an extended three year jail sentence at Bradford Crown Court in 2001 for offences of gross indecency with a boy of 14 and supplying him with Ecstasy and cannabis.

In 2013, he was imprisoned for three years at Bournemouth Crown Court for indecent assault and gross indecency involving a 13-year-old boy.

Cole abused and corrupted him after meeting him through Facebook.

He admitted three counts of indecent assault with a male and indecency with a child at Bournemouth Crown Court in September, 2001.

Cole described his urges towards teenage boys as “deviant” but said he had been on extensive sexual offenders’ treatment programmes.

His latest victim, now a man in his 30s, was plied with alcohol and poppers before he was raped.

Cole would sneak into the room where the child was sleeping and touch him indecently.

He was emboldened to commit further, more serious, sexual offences against him, leading to the three rapes when the boy was 11.

Cole and the boy watched Eurotrash on television and other young men would come to the house to smoke and drink. The child became isolated, lonely and depressed.

He felt “horrible inside”, confused, ashamed and tormented, he stated.

The victim labelled Cole a predator.

“I felt helpless and trapped. He was a bad person,” he said.

He ended his victim personal statement: “I don’t deserve to even want praise.”

The trial judge, Recorder Simon Kealey, told Cole: “The terrible things you did have had a continuing and daily effect on him.”

After yesterday’s sentencing, PC Andy Teale, of Bradford District Safeguarding Unit, said: "This has been a complex and challenging investigation that required a great deal of courage from the victim and I would like to commend him for coming forward and supporting this prosecution through to its successful conclusion.

"We hope that seeing Cole brought to justice after all these years will help the victim to continue to recover from the trauma he has experienced.

"We also hope it will give other victims the confidence to come forward knowing that we have specialist officers who can support them."

MORE TOP STORIES