A CHILD protection campaigner has criticised the “ludicrous” two-year jail sentence for a pervert who groomed and indecently assaulted a 14-year-old boy.
Judge Samuel Wiggs sent Paul Hayes to prison after he admitted two counts of gross indecency on the boy, eight counts of indecent assault and one count of supplying cannabis.
Hayes, 44, a former import clerk for a chemicals firm, befriended the boy, showered him with gifts and took him out on day trips to London to gain his trust.
After Hayes was sentenced, Michele Elliott of the children’s charity Kidscape said: “This is a classic example of a paedophile grooming a youngster so he can get his way.
“People like him who have these tendencies cannot be cured. These people are a danger to children and should be locked up for as long as possible.
“Two years is an insult to the child. I think it is ludicrous – he should have got ten years.”
Prosecutor Tim Coombes told Bournemouth Crown Court that Hayes, of Green Road, Poole, first met the boy on the beach in the summer and began taking him out for various outings and smoking cannabis with him.
In his police interview Hayes said he had given the boy gifts worth £1,000 including a Playstation 2 and games, a coat, football boots and a scarf. It was during this time Hayes assaulted the boy.
Mr Coombes said that when Hayes was asked in police interview how he managed to take the boy on trips, he said: “I would speak to his mother and tell her I was his friend’s father.”
Mr Coombes said the offences came to light in December of last year when the teenager told his mother about the abuse.
Paul Hester, mitigating, said: “He accepts, as a mature man in his mid-40s, responsibility 100 per cent for what happened.”
In passing sentence Judge Wiggs said: “I am extremely sad to see someone of your age and your effective good character for this unpleasant offence. What happened was over a number of months you have effectively groomed that young boy, you gave him presents and attention.”
He sentenced Hayes to two years for the offences of indecent assault, six months for gross indecency to run concurrently and six months for an additional charge of supplying cannabis also to run concurrently. He also ordered Hayes to register with the police for 10 years when he is released from prison.
Speaking after the hearing DC Dave Watkins said: “I am extremely disappointed with the sentence. It is a minimal sentence for an offence of indecent assault on a 14-year-old boy.
“The lad felt loved by him, he gave him so much attention. He did that in order to perform these despicable acts on him.”
