June 2018 ‘Twisted’ paedophile former social worker could die behind bars A paedophile former social worker faces dying behind bars after being jailed for 17 years. James Peter Gavin, aged 82, described as a “twisted and manipulative predator” committed the offences while the victim, a young boy, stayed at foster homes and the former Foxholes Children’s Home in Rochdale. Gavin, of College Bank Way, Rochdale, was sentenced at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court after he was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault and one count of an attempted serious sexual assault on a child. The court heard how during the 1970s Gavin – who had access to the boy through his role as a social worker – sexually abused him on a number occasions. Gavin would drive the victim to a location where he would sexually assault him. The boy didn’t told his carers at the time out of fear he’d get in trouble or that no one would believe him. Gavin also threatened him. He bravely reported it to police in 2015. Following an investigation, Gavin was arrested and interviewed and he continued to deny the offences. PC Karen Bancroft, from GMP’s Rochdale borough, said: “Gavin preyed on a vulnerable boy who should have been cared for and supported during an unsettling time in his life. “Instead, for his own sick sexual gratification, he sexually abused him knowing the distress it would cause. “Not once did he care about the emotional damage he was inflicting on an innocent child who has had to carry this pain with him his entire life. “Gavin is a twisted, manipulative predator and thanks to the courage of the victim, his patience and his strength, he is now where he belongs.” May 2018 Former Rochdale social worker guilty of five sexual offences A former Rochdale social worker has been found guilty of five counts of historic sex offences after appearing at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court on Thursday (17 May). James Peter Gavin, a former social worker from Rochdale, was found guilty of five sexual offences – between 1970 and 1978 a boy was sexually assaulted in Rochdale including at Foxholes Children’s Home. Gavin (20/04/1936), of College Bank Way, who pleaded not guilty, was found guilty with a majority jury ruling of 10-2 and 11-1. He was charged with four counts of indecent assault on a boy under 14, three between 1973 and 1975, and one between 1978 and 1979, plus one count of attempted buggery of a boy under 16 (Sexual Offences Act 1956) between 1978 and 1979. He is due to re-appear again at Minshull Street for sentencing next month.