THE perverted past of a former factory manager caught up with him when he was jailed for five years for historic sex offences.

John Sullivan, 64, of New Cottages, Ellesmere, was aged between 18 and 23 when he molested young boys aged between six and 11 at Llangollen.

Since then he had led a respectable life, was married with three grown up sons, did charity work and worked at various jobs, ending up being the manager responsible for 200 people in a factory.

But police knocked on his door earlier this year and he was arrested after a man, now in his 50s, disclosed to police what Sullivan had done to him as a child.

Police discovered that Sullivan had been interested in motorcycles. That attracted children and he would show them the machines in a garage and offered them money to perform sexual acts on him.

He also indulged in a sex act upon himself and molested one boy in a park after taking him and his friends scrumping for apples, Simon Mills, prosecuting, said.
Sullivan volunteered to police that there had been a complaint against him of indecency with a boy of 13 when he was in his 20s.

Police found archived material which showed that he had admitted what he had done to the NSPCC, but gave a no comment interview to police and no proceedings were brought at the time because the boy and his parents would not make a formal complaint.

On Friday Sullivan was put on the sex offender register for life and an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order was made to curb his future activities.
He was sentenced under legislation in force at the time of the offending – rather than today’s sentencing regime which would involve the rape of a child and far longer sentences.

Judge Philip Hughes said the offences occurred over a three to four year period in the late 60s and early 70s when Sullivan was in his late teens and early 20s.

The three victims were very young and what happened had affected them as they grew to adulthood.

John Hedgecoe, defending, said his client was a man of good character who since the offences and led an impeccable life for 40 years.

He had been brutalised himself as a child but made no excuses - he knew it was wrong and expressed genuine remorse.

Sullivan suffered ill-health and he felt the crushing blow of the convictions and the burden of guilt he felt to the grave.

He admitted eight charges of indecency with a child and indecent assault.