‘Worst-ever’ sex offender jailed
A man who raped and sexually abused children over a period of 30 years has been jailed for 20 years.
Robert Smith’s offences were described as the worst ever before the courts.
Judge Paul Hoffman, at York Crown Court, told Smith, of Scarborough, that if he died in prison it would be “no more than you deserve”.
The 65-year-old had pleaded guilty to 42 sex offences, including rape and serious sexual assault against 21 children between 1954 and 1984.
Judge Hoffman told the court that in the law book Thomas’ Sentencing Encyclopaedia, there was no case “that’s as bad as this one”.
He said: “For 30 years you abused the trust placed in you by parents and children alike to use as sexual playthings [the children you abused].
“You dominated these children by your presence and behaviour. They were terrified of you and you abused them through fear.”
Smith had shown a “prolonged and insatiable depravity” and his offences were made even more serious by the “sheer scale of wickedness” and “callous regard” for his victims’ feelings.
One woman who was raped by Smith had been too afraid to confront him, the court heard. He later went on to abuse her children.
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