Paedophile David Bolton, of East Bowling, jailed for 22 years

David Bolton, 77, from East Bowling, Bradford, had wrought such damage and devastation that many people would think incarceration for the rest of his life was richly deserved, Judge Jonathan Rose said.

Bolton shouted p*ss off to the judge and jury at Bradford Crown Court last month when he was remanded in custody after being convicted of six offences of rape, a count of indecent assault and seven allegations of sexual assault.

Today, prosecutor Richard Walters said the perverted pensioner’s offending against young girls began when, aged 20, he was convicted of having sex with a girl under 13. Four years later, in 1966, he was imprisoned for having sex with a girl under 16.

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Bolton went on to sexually abuse four girls, conducting a “campaign of rape” against one of his victims.

“These grave offences demonstrate that over a period of almost 40 years you have given free rein to your paedophilic tendencies,” Judge Rose said.

He continued: “From the age of 20, you had a perverted sexual interest in children that has in no way abated.”

Bolton tied his first victim, a girl aged seven or eight, to a bathroom sink to sexually abuse her. She had since suffered anxiety and panic attacks and self-harmed.

He went on to repeatedly sexually abuse and then rape his second victim over a 10-year period.

“It was a campaign of rape against a child who was vulnerable and who had been groomed and sexually abused over a long period of time,” Judge Rose said.

Bolton went on to sexually assault a young woman by rubbing his beard into her neck, kissing her and squeezing her breast. He seized her arm when she tried to escape his clutches.

He then squeezed a little girl’s bottom up to five times, grabbing her wrist to stop her getting away.

One woman said in her victim impact statement: “The scars are too deep to ever heal.”

She suffered anxiety, panic attacks, depression and nightmares.

Another feared going out and had flashbacks, while a third woke from nightmares crying and was now “an angrier person”.

Bolton’s barrister, Richard Canning, told the court: “He had a trial and he was convicted by the jury and there is little I can say in mitigation.”

Bolton had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and was set, aged 77, to spend at least a decade in custody.

“He may be in a position that he is serving a custodial sentence and doesn’t know why,” Mr Canning said.

Judge Rose said Bolton’s first victim reported the abuse to the police and the social services at the time but he “brazenly denied any offending.”

The fact that the girl was not believed was highly damaging both for her and Bolton’s other victims.

“Lives have been irreparably damaged by your perversion,” Judge Rose told Bolton.

Because of his age and his ill health, he was likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.

The judge made an indefinite restraining order banning Bolton from contacting any of his victims or the prosecution witnesses in his trial.

After the sentencing, an NSPCC spokesperson said: “Bolton is a truly evil individual who has shown no remorse for his sickening actions, and we hope today’s sentencing brings some form of closure for his victims.

“Sexual abuse can have a devastating impact lasting into adulthood, so it is vital that young people have the confidence to speak out in the knowledge they will be listened to. The NSPCC is visiting primary schools across Bradford with its ‘Speak Out Stay Safe’ service, empowering children to protect themselves from abuse and highlighting how to speak out if they ever experience it.”

For help and support children can contact Childline 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0800 1111 or by visiting www.childline.org.uk.

Adults with concerns about a child can contact the NSPCC helpline in confidence on 0800 808 5000 or via

help@nspcc.org.uk

.