PAUL THOMAS FROM MIDDLESBROUGH AND THORNABY SENT BACK TO PRISON FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES

In a disturbing case that highlights the ongoing issues of child sexual abuse in the Middlesbrough and Thornaby areas, Paul Thomas, aged 27, has been sentenced to serve additional time behind bars after new allegations of abuse surfaced involving a young girl. Thomas, who has a long history of offending, was already serving a five-year prison sentence for abusing three boys and was subject to a lifetime ban preventing him from taking children on fishing trips. His latest conviction stems from the abuse of a schoolgirl, which came to light after the girl confided in her mother about the inappropriate conduct.

According to reports presented at Teesside Crown Court, the girl, whose identity remains protected for legal reasons, revealed that Thomas had repeatedly touched her inappropriately several years ago when he was living in Thornaby. The girl’s mother was informed of the abuse after her daughter disclosed that Thomas had made her touch him and had attempted to coerce her into having sex with him. The girl’s father promptly reported the matter to the police, leading to Thomas’s arrest. Prosecutor Richard Bennett detailed these events during the court proceedings.

It was also revealed that the girl learned of Thomas’s previous conviction for sex offences from 2013, which added context to her allegations. During the investigation, it was uncovered that Thomas had abused three boys around the same period he assaulted the girl. One particularly disturbing incident involved Thomas coercing a boy to take indecent photographs of an even younger girl, threatening to kill himself if the boy refused. He also pressured the boy to incite the girl to engage in sexual acts and to rape a younger boy, although the boy resisted these demands.

Thomas’s criminal history includes a significant conviction from May 2013, when he was sentenced to five years in prison for 11 offences of sexual assault and inciting children to engage in sexual conduct. Judge Peter Bowers at the time emphasized that Thomas had targeted, manipulated, and isolated vulnerable and impressionable boys, which led to him being placed on the sex offenders’ register for life. Despite his previous convictions, Thomas later claimed during police interviews that the girl was lying, asserting that her accusations were influenced by things she had seen about him on the internet. He also denied having any sexual attraction to children, a claim that was met with skepticism given his criminal record.

Currently residing on Myrtle Street in central Middlesbrough, Thomas later admitted to four charges of sexual assault related to the recent case. Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, sentenced him to three years in prison for the assaults on the girl and imposed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order to restrict his future contact with minors. A further charge of attempted rape was left on the court’s file, indicating ongoing concerns about his conduct.

Reflecting on his past, Thomas’s earlier conviction in May 2013 was the result of a campaign of grooming and abuse targeting three schoolboys over a six-year period. During that trial, it was revealed that the parents of his first victim initially chose not to report the abuse to protect their child. It was only after they learned Thomas was being questioned about another victim that they decided to come forward. Thomas admitted to sexually assaulting the first child and forcing the second to perform explicit acts, though he denied involvement with a third victim. A jury found him guilty of two charges after a three-day trial, and Judge Bowers urged him to undergo sex offender treatment while in prison to better understand his behavior.

In mitigation, Peter Sabiston, representing Thomas, described his client’s actions as “stupid and rash,” emphasizing that the offences were never intended to be carried out and that Thomas was struggling to come to terms with his actions. Despite his pleas of guilt to multiple charges, the court’s verdict underscores the severity of his repeated and manipulative abuse of vulnerable children in Middlesbrough and Thornaby, raising ongoing concerns about safeguarding and community safety in the region.