A YORK paedophile aged 70 has been jailed for six years for subjecting young unrelated girls to a "child's nightmare".

The youngest of ex-company sergeant-major William James Gray's five victims was just three.

One of the abused girls was so affected she now has difficulties forming relationships with men, York Crown Court heard.

Another has convictions for drug-related crime. She told a judge in Leeds she had turned to heroin to cope with the agony in her life after being abused separately by Gray and another man.

At York, Judge Paul Hoffman told Gray: "This was systematic corruption over a long period of time - admittedly with a substantial gap in the middle. The fifth was still in nappies when you took indecent photographs of her. That was a sick and depraved thing to do."

Gray had continued to abuse children after one of them told her mother - and was disbelieved.

"It was a child's nightmare," said the judge.

"You are in a state of substantial denial and transference of responsibility and you have shown no remorse."

He jailed Gray for six years for five offences of indecent assault, six of indecency with a child and three of taking pornographic photos, and put him on the sex offenders' register for life.

The judge commended detective constables Caroline Austin and Dave Peat for bringing him to justice. Gray, formerly of Fenwick Street, South Bank, pleaded guilty to all offences.

David Bradshaw, prosecuting, said Gray indecently assaulted one girl in her early teens and after she spoke out, he abused three more who were just over half her age.

He got two of the younger girls to pose for pornographic photos. After a gap of several years, in 1998, he three times took photos of the youngest child. But that led to his arrest and police uncovering the earlier abuse.

For Gray, Kate Buckingham said he had won commendations during his long service in the Army as a gunner. He rose to the rank of company sergeant major before his honourable discharge in 1975.

In civilian life, he was a conscientious member of the community.

He now suffers from diabetes and asthma and osteo-arthritis that causes him considerable pain. His illnesses would increase the impact of prison life on him.

He may have turned to child abuse to ease his loneliness after the death of his wife.

Updated: 11:23 Tuesday, October 16, 2001