'GENTLE JEFF' - THE TWISTED PAEDOPHILE WHO GROOMED BOYS, SEXUALLY ABUSED THEM AND THEN ACCUSED THEM OF LYING
An "entrenched paedophile" nicknamed "Gentle Jeff" targeted three young boys for serious sexual abuse – but later tried to talk his way out of trouble by pretending that he was the victim of a "deliberate hatchet job".Jeffrey Prest was a "sexual deviant" who was "highly manipulative" and carried out the abuse while "hiding in plain sight", Hull Crown Court heard.
Prest, 59, of High Street, Hull, denied a series of sexual offences, including rape, indecent assault and indecency with a child but was convicted by a jury on all the allegations after an eight-day trial.
David Godfrey, prosecuting, said that Prest groomed and sexually abused the three young boys during a series of incidents after "latching on" to them.
"The shame these three boys feel oozes through their accounts," said Mr Godfrey.
"They came to court to put their demons to rest.
They are all saying very similar things." The victims were "utterly believable" and were "telling the truth" about what happened.
"The overriding emotion that these three feel is shame – the memory of being abused in awful ways," said Mr Godfrey.
"That has tortured them.
They have not come forward out of spite.
They have come forward as they have carried the burden of this abuse all of their lives, not being able to shake it off and wanting to look forward, not back.
They have shown extraordinary bravery.
"They were groomed.
They have got nothing to feel shame about.
It comes through in spades, the shame.
That's exactly what Prest was banking on, that the boys would take it to the grave.
They have stood up to be counted and they have held him to account." Prest claimed that there had been a "conspiracy" and that the victims had "got their heads together" but there were a "number of telling similarities in their accounts" about what happened to them.
It was "identical sexual abuse" that happened "independent of each other" to the boys.
"These are not concocted stories," said Mr Godfrey.
"It's the truth of what happened to them.
"They are victims of the same crimes carried out by the same man.
Any suggestion that this was a deliberate hatchet job is nonsense and not borne out by the evidence.
"It was entrenched.
Any opportunity he got to do it, he took it." During his defence evidence, Prest was "pouring scorn" on the key players in the case.
He was a "sexual deviant" who exploited the shame felt by the boys to use as his "protective shield".
Prest had described himself during his evidence in court as "Gentle Jeff" and a "great guy" with "loads of friends" but he was a "highly manipulative man masquerading as a good guy".
The "Gentle Jeff" image was a "disguise" for his "systematic" abuse.
"There is only one liar in this case and that's Jeff," said Mr Godfrey.
"These boys haven't come to court to gang up on Jeff and lie." During the trial, Prest claimed that none of the offences happened and that the boys were telling lies about him and had concocted false accounts.
He had no previous convictions.
Prest had been on bail during the trial but, after the verdicts, he was remanded in custody to await sentence in February.
He will have to register as a sex offender.
