A PREDATORY paedophile who abused nine children aged between four and 15 has been jailed for eight years.

Charles Arthur Dye made seven of his victims, including the youngest, relive their ordeals in court by denying 23 charges of indecent assault or indecency with a child, but was convicted by a jury.

Before he stood trial in February, Dye had already served court punishments for crimes against an eighth victim aged 14 and a ninth, aged six or seven.

Dye, an unemployed factory worker, began his crimes when he was a teenager in Selby.

Between 1976 and 1984 he performed sexual acts on the first four boys, Richard Walters, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court. He tied one victim, a teenager, to a tree “in a playful way” before abusing him.

On another occasion, when staying away from home, he persuaded a boy aged four or five to get into bed with him until the boy’s parents realised what was going on and stopped it.

In 1988, he was given a community punishment by Selby magistrates for abusing the eighth victim, but restarted his crimes and in the next few years abused three boys in Lancashire and Leeds including when he was baby-sitting one.

In 2000 he was given a three-year probation order at York Crown Court for abusing the ninth victim.

Teesside Crown Court heard many of Dye’s victims had tried to suppress their memories of the abuse until one of the Selby victims went to the police, beginning the investigation that brought Dye to justice.

Dye, now 53, of Shakespeare Grange, Leeds, was jailed for eight years for the 23 charges on which he stood trial at Teesside.

He was also put on the sex offenders’ register for life and made subject to a sexual offences order banning him from contacting any children and his victims, all now adults.

His barrister Jon Gregg said he had a very low IQ and would find prison hard because of his lack of intelligence and his convictions.

He was a “talkative” man. Dye continues to deny that he abused seven of his victims.

Speaking after the sentencing, the investigating officer Sergeant Carol Kirk, of Selby Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “Dye is a predatory paedophile who targeted young children for his own sexual gratification, abusing his victims’ and their families’ trust in the worst way possible.

“He showed arrogance and contempt for what he had done right up until his trial, forcing his victims to re-live their distressing ordeals in court. “


Dye victims urge others to speak about sexual abuses

THREE of Dye’s victims have urged other victims of sexual abuse to speak out, and praised Sergeant Carol Kirk for enabling them to put their ordeals behind them by bringing him to justice.

One, who was the first to speak out, said: “Today’s outcome only became possible thanks to the courage and mental strength of all the victims to confront an abusive past they had been trying to suppress for around 30 years.

“The hardest part of the whole process was making the decision to come forward and then giving my initial statement, but from that point on it really helped me to confront my past and to then tell close family members.”

A second said: “My biggest regret is that it hung from my back, like a bag of bricks, for most of my life.

“Don’t leave it like I did and dismiss it trying to forget.

“It doesn’t work, it just eats at you and stops you moving on.”

A third spoke about how the last decade had been among the worst years of his life.

He added: “I am just glad that as time has moved on, people have come to listen to victims more about historic crimes and that there is more help available now then ever before.”