A Newhaven man has been given a 13-year prison sentence for a series of sexual offences against two young boys at his then address in Norfolk Road, Brighton.
Keith Freeman, 68, retired, of Brighton Road, Newhaven, was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday (7 March), having been convicted on the same day, after a trial, of seven offences and having admitting three others.
He committed nine offences of buggery, attempted and gross indecency, against one boy aged between aged 11 and 16 between 1979 and 1983, and one offence of indecent assault against a second boy, then aged between 15 and 17 between 1983 and 1984.
Freeman will be a registered sex offender for life.
He met the first boy, who was vulnerable and alone, in Brighton town centre, invited him back to his nearby flat and began a series of sexual assaults that extended over some four years until the boy became 16 and felt brave enough to end the relationship.
The second boy fell into Freeman’s clutches in about 1983 when he was 15, and Freeman offered him a lift while he was hitchhiking back to where he was living in Rottingdean. Freeman made advances to the boy, eventually engaging him in sexual activity.
Detective Constable Tom Duffy said; “These victims came to us separately in 2014 and 2016. They were vulnerable at the time of the offences and their experiences have clearly caused them considerable emotional damage that has affected their lives since.
“However they were ready and able to give their evidence in court and this helped ensure that justice was done.
“Freeman was a predatory sexual offender against these vulnerable young boys and the seriousness of this has been reflected in his sentence.”
