Sea Scout volunteer who abused boys is jailed

A Sea Scout volunteer who committed 29 sexual offences against three boys has been jailed for nine years.

Martin Daniels, 66, of Manor Farm, North Walsham, Norfolk, admitted carrying out the offences between 1980 and 1991 against the boys who he met through the Sea Scouts unit at Buxton, near Aylsham.

One victim said he had been unable to fulfil relationships because of the sexual abuse he suffered.

Another victim said he became addicted to sex, alcohol and drugs. Both had experienced suicidal thoughts.

Sentencing Daniels, Judge Anthony Bate said: "In 1980, you were a 22-year-old man of good character.

"However, in that year you became, until 1992, an opportunistic sexual offender, preying on three boys who should have been safe in your company."

Daniels shook his head as victim statements were read to the court.

One victim said he had struggled to fulfil relationships and had never had children because he avoided sex as a result of the abuse he suffered.

In the statement, read out by prosecutor Danielle O'Donovan, he said: "If Martin Daniels hadn't managed to put on such a nice personality he would never have got into my family. He groomed my whole family.

"His impact on my education and personal growth is something I have compensated for all my life."

Another victim said the abuse began when he was about seven.

The man said Daniels would try to play with him before engaging in sexual contact, and he recounted one occasion where he had to shout, "Stop, stop, stop".

Ms O'Donovan said the victim was pinned to the floor and that today it would be considered rape with a sentence of 25 years. In the 1980s it would have attracted a maximum of 10 years.

He said he had suffered with depression, thought sex was dirty, and had felt suicidal, adding: "After years of therapy I have decided I am able to provide this victim statement.

"I didn't think he'd still be controlling me more than 40 years later, but it's true. The deepest core lesson is that I was nothing more than to be used."

A mother's witness statement was also read out, setting out how she knew nothing of the abuse for decades.

She spoke of her pride when her son finally decided to report Daniels, saying it explained why he was a loner.

"We welcomed Mr Daniels into our home. I wish I had never met him," she said.

Sally Hobson, in mitigation, said Daniels had been abused as a child and had struggled to live his life as he would have wished, feeling shame about his sexuality.

She added: "He is a very different man to the man he was when he committed these offences.

"He was himself subjected to a very nasty incident at the age of seven... I say, on behalf of Mr Daniels, being abused gives a very distorted view of sexual relationships.

"It's clear it did not occur to him there would be long-lasting consequences to his behaviour, but as he grew older and knew the consequences of being the victim of a serious sexual assault, [he knew] that others would be as well.

"To those who are his victims, he is not just paying lip service. He is genuinely remorseful about the consequences and his actions."

Judge Bate told Daniels: "There was a darker side to your character that lay hidden.

"Your three victims were aged between seven and 15 when you targeted them. They have at last been able to speak about these matters.

"They should have hoped they could have fulfilled in their adult life healthy relationships with other people, but your abuse destroyed all that."

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