MICHAEL HOLOLOB

A 68-year-old man from Middlesbrough, who had a long history of offending spanning over five decades, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for sexually abusing three young girls and assaulting a young boy.

Michael Hololob was convicted following a two-week trial at Teesside Crown Court.

The court heard distressing evidence of the physical and emotional trauma inflicted on the children, leading to his conviction on 22 counts of indecent assault and three counts of child cruelty.

Hololob targeted children as young as five years old and committed acts of horrific sexual abuse.

The first victim reported the abuse to authorities in 2016.

Despite the conviction, Hololob maintained his innocence during the trial, requiring his victims to testify against him in court.

The presiding judge, Timothy Stead, described the case as particularly disturbing and stated that Hololob had caused significant suffering to his victims.

He sentenced Hololob to 20 years in prison, along with an additional one-year license period.

The judge also categorized Hololob as an offender 'of particular concern.' Additionally, Hololob was subject to an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting his four victims, and a sexual harm prevention order was issued.