Former Lambeth care worker for vulnerable children has to serve five more years in prison after being convicted of further sexual assaults

A convicted paedophile who abused children in a Lambeth care home has been sentenced to a further five years in prison.

Leslie Paul, 70, worked as a residential care worker in Lambeth for 12 years when he preyed on teenage boys at the South Vale Assessment Centre in West Norwood.

The court heard that Paul – whose address was given in court as Thameside Prison in Thamesmead, used his position of trust to sexually abuse vulnerable children who were temporarily residing at the care home in the 1980s.

Yesterday (Monday, 18 January 2022) Paul was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court to five years in custody. He had been convicted of 10 counts of indecent assault on a male, two counts of indecency with a child, and one count of buggery following a trial. He had previously been sentenced to an indeterminate sentence of 13 years following previous convictions for offences against children in 1994, 2002 and 2016.

Carly Loftus, from the CPS, said: “Leslie Paul is a prolific sexual offender who abused his position of trust within the Lambeth care system. His victims described feeling terrified and powerless to stop the abuse.

“The prosecution case included strong witness testimony from both victims who came to court to give evidence against their attacker.

“We were also able to tell the jury about Paul’s numerous previous convictions against children – many of the details of which were strikingly similar to this case, making it abundantly clear that he had the propensity to commit these crimes.

“Crimes against children are truly abhorrent. The CPS is absolutely committed to bringing sexual predators to justice regardless of the passage of time since the offending.

“I hope this prosecution and further jail sentence goes some way to comfort the victims of this man.”

Paul supposedly looked after vulnerable children at South Vale, which was run by Lambeth council’s social services department.The former special constable groomed and abused four young boys under his care.

Paul had been convicted in January 2016 of 17 historical sexual offences against children in his care after a month-long trial.

He was cleared in 2016 of eight similar offences. Paul, then of Clephane Road, Islington, north London, denied 22 counts of indecent assault of a male, two counts of serious sexual assault, and a single count of aiding and abetting indecent assault of a male person.

Detective Constable Suzanne Lister said in 2016: “Paul was responsible for the care of his victims, the ultimate position of trust.

“He used that power to take advantage and commit the most serious of crimes against them. I commend the bravery of the victims who have been forced to relive their experiences in an open court. It is their testimonies which have brought Paul to justice and I hope they take some comfort from that.”

Judge John Hillen in 2016 sentenced Paul to 13 years’ imprisonment and imposed a sexual harm prevention order barring him from unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16.

Leslie Paul stood up in the dock and shouted “liars”, as he was jailed in 2016.

One of the 2016 case victims, who must remain anonymous, released a statement through specialist abuse lawyers Irwin Mitchell after Paul was sentenced.

He said: “The abuse I suffered as a teenager ruined my life.

“I didn’t speak about it until I was contacted by the police in 2014 as I thought no one would believe what happened to me, as I was ignored at the time it was happening to me.

“I’m relieved that Paul was found guilty and will now spend time in prison for what he did to me and some of the other people.

“I can finally start to move on with my life knowing that everyone now believes me.”