November 2011 Truro fisherman Jeremy Freethy jailed for abusing boys A fisherman has been jailed for nearly 10 years at Truro Crown Court for seriously sexually abusing two boys. Jeremy Freethy, 45, of Orchard Court, Penzance, had pleaded guilty earlier to a total of 29 offences. One of the boys was abused for four years, the other for six months, the court heard. Judge Christopher Elwen said: “These offences were planned, predatory and perpetrated over a period. “The boys were groomed, taken advantage of and given money to keep quiet.” ‘Turned to drugs’ The judge told Freethy: “You were a man of positive good character, but your fall from grace is startling.” In his personal impact statement, one of the victims said that the effect on him had been shattering, Prosecutor Ramsay Quaife told the court. “His life has totally changed for the worst, he turned to drugs, drink and crime and felt that his only escape was prison.” John Boyle, defending, stressed that Freethy had admitted his guilt from the outset but had always denied plying the boys with alcohol and cannabis. Jailing him for nine and a half years, Judge Elwen also banned Freethy from working with children for the rest of his life and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register.