August 2004 Paedophile ‘groomed’ family A paedophile has been jailed for 10 years at Mold Crown Court after he was branded a threat to young boys. Judge John Rogers QC heard how Darren Clarke, 31, from Wrexham, took up voluntary work and groomed a family to get near to their son. After gaining their trust he repeatedly sexually abused their 13-year-old son, the court heard. Clarke, who admitted sexual assault, fell to temptation, said his barrister. Clarke moved to North Wales when he was placed at a bail hostel, as part of his rehabilitation after a previous six year prison sentence for sex offences. “You are a paedophile,” Judge Rogers told him. “You are, and for many years to come, a threat to young men. “On this occasion, you selected a 13-year-old boy. You groomed him and then you repeatedly sexually abused him for your own gratification. “My duty is to impose a sentence which will protect youngsters from you and deter other like minded offenders.” Clarke showed no emotion in the dock as the 10-year sentence was passed. He admitted six specimen counts of sexually assaulting the boy when he was 13 and 14. Alarm bells started ringing about the teenage boy’s safety when social workers called police after they were refusedaccess to his home. Befriended family Clarke was originally alleged to have introduced another paedophile to the boy. Michael Thomas O’Neill also molested the youngster after posing as a priest. After leaving the bail hostel, Clarke lived at Pant Robyn Farm in Wrexham. Police took out sexual offender orders against both Clarke and O’Neill prohibiting them from associating with young people under 18, particularly the complainant and his siblings. But Clarke was later jailed for two years for breaching the order after police found that he had invited the boy away on holiday with him. The extent of the abuse was not known at the time but later the boy went to police and told them what had been happening. The court was told how the abuse went on for between eight to ten months. The court heard that Clarke befriended the socially-deprived family and took them out. He bought clothes for the children, a mobile phone for their mother and one Christmas bought mobile phones for all the children. Bernadette Baxter, defending, said Clarke had been determined not to offend after his previous prison sentence. His move to north Wales was intended as a fresh start, and was not a cynical move to find a fresh area in which to prey. Clarke had not gone looking for someone to abuse in a predatory way but fell to temptation, she said. In May, O’Neill was jailed for three years for indecent assault upon the same boy – to run concurrently to a five year sentence he had received for earlier sexual offences