July 2009 THE family of a child abused by a paedophile known as the ‘Beast from the East’ fear the sicko may have molested at least a dozen more kids THE family of a child abused by a paedophile known as the ‘Beast from the East’ fear the sicko may have molested at least a dozen more kids. East Belfast man Thomas McConnell (73) was jailed for two years last month after being found guilty of indecent assault on a male and gross indecency with a child. Downpatrick Crown Court heard how the attacks were almost 30-years apart with the first occurring in 1980 and the most recent in 2007. The mother of one of his victims, a boy now aged 13, believes the pervert pensioner abused at least a dozen other kids between the time of the first and last attacks. She said: “There are bound to be more victims. There is no way McConnell abused a child in 1980 and then stopped for 27-years until he sexually assaulted my son. “He’s a pervert and he wouldn’t have been able to control himself. I’m appealing to anyone else who he assaulted to go to the police.” McConnell, from the Clonduff estate in Castlereagh, denied the sex abuse charges meaning his victims were forced to give evidence against him in court. “What McConnell did to my son was bad enough, but to then make him relive what happened in court was horrible,” added the worried mum. The court was told that McConnell would ply his 11-year-old victim with alcohol. He would then pull his trousers down and touch him. On other occasions the paedophile would give the child GBP5 to drop his pants. The child’s family became suspicious when they noticed that their son always had money. “At first my son said there was nothing wrong, but then he opened up to us and told us everything,” explained his dad. “Word got out about what happened and a crowd started gathering at McConnell’s door. They were screaming for him to get out and then the police were called. “When the police arrived I told them what that pervert had done to my wee lad. Within a week another fella, who is 40 now, came forward and told the police he had also been abused by McConnell when he was a child.” McConnell was sentenced to two years in prison last month but because of time already served he will be free next summer. Castlereagh Ulster Unionist councillor Michael Copeland has arranged for the family of McConnell’s victim to meet with Security Minister Paul Goggins to discuss the length of the beast’s sentence. Mr Copeland said he too was dismayed by the two-year jail term: “I’ve dealt with a number of these cases and in every one the victims have been left feeling like they are nothing more than a piece of evidence in the state’s case, and they have been frequently disappointed with the sentences handed down.”