October 2004 Perv jailed for 20 years A Plymouth man has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars for raping and indecently assaulting teenage boys in the early 1990s. Robert John Deane, aged 48, was told by Judge Francis Gilbert at Plymouth Crown Court yesterday that he must serve at least 10 years before being considered for parole. The judge added: “You have a long history of serious sexual abuse of young males.” Deane, from Honicknowle, had pleaded guilty to seven sex offences against boys under the age of 16, including rape, indecent assault and gross indecency. Deane tied one boy to a bed and raped him, Plymouth Crown Court heard. Deane, a married father of two, committed the offences by luring his victims to his home in Honicknowle to show them his computer, the court heard. One victim alleged that when he was under 16 he had been raped by Deane while tied to a bed. Another claimed he had been sexually abused after he had shown an interest in computers and computer games. One of Deane’s victims was a boy with learning difficulties who he subjected to a horrific indecent assault. Judge Gilbert described it as Deane’s ‘most grave offence’. He added: “It demonstrated to me an alarming escalation in your depravity. “You say he submitted to what happened – well, you were a grown man and he had learning difficulties, so I find difficulty in accepting that.” The judge said Deane had ‘groomed’ another young boy and had filmed the sexual abuse that followed. Reading from a psychiatric report, Judge Gilbert said: “You have described the boys as objects for your sexual gratification and your acts as an addiction. “You targeted vulnerable boys and deliberately set out to befriend them and even their families.” Deane admitted two counts of rape, one count of taking indecent photographs of a child, three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency with a child. The court heard that Deane had a previous conviction for indecent assault on boys dating back to 1990. He had received a two-year probation order for the offences. Sentencing Deane at Plymouth Crown Court yesterday, Judge Gilbert said his psychiatric reports suggested there was a ‘strong risk’ of him reoffending if he did not receive help. He said the lengthy sentence he imposed reflected this. “You have abused teenage boys repeatedly, realising the harm you were doing,” Judge Gilbert added. “Without help you pose and will continue to pose a strong risk of committing further offences.” The judge said Deane’s prison sentence may be extended by up to ten years if probation staff are not satisfied he is safe to be released at the end of his term. Deane will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for the rest of his life. In mitigation, Ali Rafati, defending, said Deane was now determined to undergo treatment to help him. Deane was arrested in April this year after one of his victims was interviewed by police in March. After the original complaint, several more victims came forward. Dc Sarah Thorn, of Plymouth’s Child Protection Team, said: “Some of them are now adults who had bottled up the abuse for a number of years and found it very upsetting to re-live what had happened. “Their stories were extremely upsetting and the things they described were very graphic. “I’m pleased with the sentence that’s been passed because he’s a dangerous man and always will be a dangerous man.” Dc Paul Dobinson, of Charles Cross CID, added: “We think there are definitely more victims of his out there.”