November 2006 Family’s fury at abuser’s release Parents of a boy groomed by a paedophile have criticised a decision to release him from prison early. Paul Moore was sentenced to four years and nine months in January 2004 after admitting sexually assaulting three boys. Newcastle Crown Court heard how the 39-year-old groomed two of his victims by befriending them and had a wealth of child pornography on his computer. One seven-year-old became so close to Moore he told police he was his “best friend in the world”. After the original sentence the boy’s parents hit out and said Moore, formerly of Mitford Gardens, Howdon, near North Shields, should have received a lot longer. But now the couple, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, are outraged after receiving a phone call from the Victim Liaison Service saying the paedophile is to be released in the coming weeks. The boy’s father said: “He is an extremely dangerous person. He is very, very crafty. He wormed his way into our family so he could get to our son and then he abused him. “He is a very, very dangerous person and we are concerned he will be close.” The family have been given a list of possible locations where Moore could be bailed and fear some are too close to their home. “He has been given an exclusion zone but he could easily come into that. We understand they are moving him away but they can’t give us a reasonable idea,” the father added. Moore was arrested in September 2003 after the boy told his parents Moore had tried to perform sexual acts on him at his home. A 12-year-old also told his mother that Moore had assaulted him in 2001. Police searched Moore’s home and found 422 indecent images on his computer. Moore also admitted indecently assaulting a 16-year-old. Judge Beatrice Bolton gave Moore credit for his early guilty plea, but said he was a risk to others. She ordered him to remain on the sex offenders’ register for life and banned him from working with children. Passing sentence she said: “If one was sentencing to reflect the distress and pain caused to those who trusted this man then the sentence could never be long enough.” A spokeswoman for the Northumbria Probation Service said it works with victims of serious violent or sexual offenders to provide support and information on the progress of the case. She said: “This includes advance notice of the month of the offender’s release.”