Serial paedophile who sexually assaulted boy in Blackpool hotel has sentence cut by Court of Appeal

A serial paedophile who sexually assaulted a young boy in a Blackpool hotel room has had his sentence cut by the Court of Appeal.

Carl Jones, who sexually abused and raped children for more than 20 years, was sentenced to life, with a minimum 25 years for multiple offences. However, he appealed the 25 year minimum sentence imposed by a judge and will now serve at least 19 years behind bars.

Fifty seven-year-old Jones' victims, including a boy who was taken to Blackpool by the sex offender and abused, were praised for their 'bravery'.

Child protection officer Det. Sgt Katie Halstead said: "Jones is a depraved man who preyed on children with complete disregard for the trauma his abhorrent actions caused. The victims and survivors in this case had their childhoods tainted in the most awful way, and at a very young age, they experienced what no one should ever have to."

Jones, from Salford, was convicted of eight counts of rape of a child under 13, involving six boys. Most of the counts referred to multiple incidents. Other offences involved sexual assault and sexual activity with children.

One of the boys was abused for three years from the age of 10, with Jones regularly taking him on days out, including trips to Blackpool. He also regularly raped a six-year-old boy and forced other children to watch him as he abused their friends.

During the trial, one of his victims described Jones performing a sex act in front of him in a resort hotel room. In imposing the original sentence, the trial judge cited the young age of the victims and that others had been forced to watch the abuse.

A pre-sentence report concluded Jones would remain a risk to children and had left his victims emotionally scarred for the rest of their lives. It said: "There is no doubt that Jones has caused the victims significant serious sexual, emotional, psychological and physical harm from which they are unlikely to fully recover from.

"It is likely that the victims will require psychological or even psychiatric interventions."

The report also revealed that his victims had suffered serious injury and infections from the rapes.

However, the Court of Appeal ruled that the original minimum sentence was too harsh. Jones' lawyer, Mr English KC, argued that his client had "accepted his culpability and had sought to address the cause of his offending".

Mr Enoch KC said the sentence was 'entirely justified given the circumstances of the offences committed against 11 victims over 20 years". The Court of Appeal agreed that life was the right sentence for Jones and not "wrong or excessive". However, the court concluded that the Judge should not have set the minimum term to be served at 45 years.

Jo Palmiero, senior prosecutor for the North West's Rape and Serious Sexual Offence Unit, said: "Carl Jones groomed and sexually abused young boys for his own gratification. He plied them with alcohol, money and gifts and exploited the boys in the worst way, with no thought for the lifelong impact his abuse would have on them."