A ice rink manager who groomed a teenage skater before repeatedly indecently assaulting him was jailed for five-and-a-half years yesterday.
Darren Sinclair, (30), performed sex acts on the teenager, then aged 13, while helping to run Planet Ice in Pershore Street, Birmingham.
When police arrested the father-of-two, they found dozens of sickening images of boys aged between five and 16 on his computer.
Jailing him at the city’s crown court, Judge Richard Griffith-Jones told Sinclair he had a ‘sickening state of mind’ and said he would remain on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.
The judge added: ‘You groomed this boy whom you took advantage of because he admired your skills on the ice.
‘He was flattered by your attention which in reality had lascivious motivations and you took advantage of that.
‘You groomed him, you shaped his young mind in such a way that you intended to satisfy yourself sexually.’
Sinclair, of Sheringham Road, Kings Norton, Birmingham, had been convicted of four counts of indecent assault at a trial in September last year.
He had pleaded guilty to 14 charges of possessing indecent photos on his computer.
Morris Cooper, prosecuting, told the court that Sinclair and the teenager, who is now aged 17 and cannot be identified for legal reasons, became friends when the victim began visiting the rink at weekends in 1998.
Sinclair would lead the youth to’discreet’ parts of the ice rink, such as the engineering room, where he performed sexual acts on him.
On one occasion, Sinclair was caught by his boss, who agreed to keep quiet about the incident.
Mr Cooper told the court Sinclair was arrested after the boy told his mother what had been going on.
Police officers searched Sinclair’s car and found a bundle of cards from the boy to Sinclair, including a birthday card from Sinclair to the teenager signed: ‘You sexy beast’.
Christopher Morris, defending, told the court that Sinclair, who had no previous convictions, had continued to deny he was sexually involved with the teenager.
Mr Morris said: ‘That there was mutual attraction between Mr Sinclair and (the teenager) seems clear, but I accept that the age difference between the two was such that even if there had been consensual activity, he would still be guilty.’ Sinclair had ‘thrown away his life’ with his partner and son, aged six, and daughter, aged three, added Mr Morris.
Judge Griffith-Jones told Sinclair he had betrayed the trust of the teenager’s parents and abused his position, especially as most visitors to ice rinks were youngsters.
‘Your mutual enthusiasm for ice skating fooled (the teenager’s) parents into thinking your intention with their son was altruistic,’ the judge said.
‘In reality, you were grossly breaching their trust. Your sickening attempt to blame him for what happened will not add a jot to the sentence but there is no mitigation at all.’
Sinclair was jailed for five years for four charges of indecent assault and six months for possessing indecent photographs, terms to run consecutively.
