March 2011 Wirral sex fiend who filmed himself committing offences against young boys jailed for eight years A MAN who filmed himself committing a catalogue of sex offences against young boys he befriended was jailed for eight years. Ian Reginald Mitchell, 56, of Mersey Court, Wallasey, admitted a total of 31 offences between 1995 and February 2010 against five victims, who were all aged between 12 and 15 at the time of the abuse. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to serve an additional four years on licence. He was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register. In total he admitted: One count of sexual activity in the presence of a child. Nine counts of sexual activity with a child. Seven counts of possessing indecent images of a child. Eight counts of making indecent images of a child. Three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. One counts of indecency with a child. One count of perjury. Manchester Crown Court heard Mitchell targeted the teenagers and often filmed his perverted acts to keep as “trophy footage”. He took the youngsters to his flats in north Manchester and Merseyside to play computer games and watch films, plying them with booze and cannabis before abusing them. The court heard the five boys who were in their early teens at the time were sometimes paid £5 afterwards. When police caught and arrested Mitchell in 2010 he told officers: “I have been expecting this for a long time. You will have enough to put me away for a long time.” Mitchell, a car boot and market trader, was referring to pictures and footage seized by police from a safety deposit box company on Oxford Road in Manchester city centre. Detectives discovered it contained around 30 DVDs and discs containing videos and photos of the children, material he had locked away for safe keeping. Some of the footage was classed as level four, the very worst being only one grade higher at level five. Robert Elias, prosecuting, told the court the abuse occurred between 1996 and 2010 across the north west. He added: “The defendant seems to have kept trophy footage of the abuse of the children as a way of keeping what he had done in his mind and for his own gratification in the future.” David Friesner, defending, said: “It’s clear the defendant realises the error of his ways and is remorseful for what has happened. He understands that his victims could not consent and that they will have suffered some psychological harm.” Judge Martin Rudland told the defendant: “Over a prolonged period you engaged in the predatory grooming and abuse of five young boys. You have an on-going and entrenched interest and participation in the sexual activities with boys. Speaking after the case, DC Dec O’Reilly, of GMP’s Sexual Crime Unit, said: “I hope that this sentence might encourage other victims to come forward and should act as a strong warning that we will robustly investigate these offences regardless of how long ago they happened. “We recovered appalling evidence of Mitchell carrying out sordid sexual abuse on the victims, who have all suffered terribly as a result of what he has done. “Mitchell is a predatory sex offender who preyed on young boys, befriended them and gained their trust before subjecting them to unimaginable abuse. “He is a calculated offender who has a tried and tested pattern that he has been using for more than a decade.”