July 2008 Theatre director jailed for child abuse A theatre director who sexually abused a 14-year-old boy has been jailed for two years and four months. And Rhys Young, who had a previous conviction for similar offences on a young boy from a decade ago, has finally been banned from working with children. The 49-year-old met his victim when he was working at the Eklypse theatre company in Devizes and the lad was just 13 years old. Colin Meeke, prosecuting, said the boy had a troubled past and struck up a friendship with Young. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, visited Young’s home on numerous occasions. When he had turned 14 the victim asked Young to take a picture of him for a social networking website but the photo session ended with him naked. In the following months Young carried out sex acts on the child on a number of occasions as well as indecently touching him. During the time he was abusing him Young would buy things for the youngster varying from tobacco and beer to giving him some money. He said the boy stopped going to see Young when he got a girlfriend and the abuse ceased as they fell out. However the offending came to light after Young himself went to the police saying he wanted to report a theft and confess to another crime. He said he believed the victim and his flat mate were planning to blackmail him so he confessed. Mr Meeke said “He said he tried to control himself following his release from prison. He received a twelve month sentence for offences not dissimilar. “He had tried to control his urges but they had fallen by the wayside as it was.” Young, of Dovecote Close, Trowbridge, pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual activity with a child between the start of August 2006 and Wednesday March 19 this year. The first three charges relate to Young performing a sex act on the child while the other four involve him indecently touching him. He also admitted causing a child to watch a sexual act by getting him to look at images of a person engaging in a sex act and making an indecent image of a child. However he denied three allegations of causing or inciting a child to engage in activity and three of paying a child for sexual services. The court heard he was convicted of two counts of indecent assault on a male under 16 at Warwick crown court in 1996. Neil Saunders, defending, said it was important to note how the offences came to light and that at no point did the victim not consent to what happened. He said his client had not groomed’ the boy for the abuse in any as he had shown friendship to many youngsters he met through his theatre work. At the time of the offending he said Young was depressed after the breakdown of a long term relationship. Jailing him Judge Douglas Field said “Though there was no specific grooming there is no doubt that you extended friendship to this young teenager and there were presents and the like and as a result of this burgeoning relationship you were able to undertake these acts t gratify your sexual needs. “I do think it relevant that you first got to know him when you were involved in apposition of authority at this theatre group. I accept that this sexual activity did not take place while that was the position.” As well as jailing him he banned him from working with children for like, told him to register as a sex offender for life and imposed a sexual offences prevention order restricting his liberty.