A serial paedophile who assaulted five young girls has failed in an appeal Court challenge to his 16-year prison sentence.

Christopher Clayton, 45, of Ranelagh Avenue, Ravenscliffe, pleaded guilty to four counts of rape and three of indecent assault at Leeds Crown Court on July 21 last year.

Lord Justice Judge told the Criminal Appeal Court in London yesterday that the five victims were aged between 11 and 15. After the attacks Clayton would "make threats of violence" to the victims and tell them they had "loose morals".

"There was very powerful evidence that the depravity caused them the most dreadful distress," he said.

The judge who sentenced Clayton had taken into account his guilty pleas which had been made only after one of the girls had already given evidence and had been subjected to cross examination, Lord Justice Judge added.

On the day the guilty pleas were entered, two other girls had arrived at court prepared to give evidence but the appeal judge said it had nevertheless been "right to give some credit" for Clayton's change of plea.

Refusing Clayton's renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence, Lord Justice Judge said the court "entirely agreed" with the comments of another judge who had earlier refused leave after viewing papers in the case.

Leeds Crown Court had heard that Clayton took his victims on trips to Scarborough and Otley Chevin before raping them and threatening to tie them up and leaving them to die on Ilkley Moor. The truth began to emerge after Clayton went on a night out with a group of friends, including the mother of one of his victims, in September 1997.

The woman's daughter was babysitting for his one-year-old son and she had agreed to stay the night. But she ran screaming from his house after Clayton started making advances, the court heard.

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