Man who abused boy and girl jailed for 15 years

Martin Slater abused children over several years

A serial child sex offender who abused two young children over many years has been jailed for 15-and-a-half years.

Martin Slater, 53, of no fixed address, was found guilty of 16 offences following a trial at York Crown Court earlier this year.

The abuse dated back to the 1980s and early 2000s and began when the boy was just seven years old and later when the girl was just five and continued into their teens.

Slater, previously of Scarborough, was sentenced on Monday, where in addition to his prison term he was issued with restraining orders preventing him from ever contacting his two victims.

He was also placed on the sex offenders' register and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention order for life.

Det Con Leah Gillon said the court had heard the abuse had affected all aspects of the victims' lives and their mental health as they grew up and into their adulthood, causing "immense distress" for them and their families.

"As with many victims of abuse they have lived with the trauma caused by Slater for many, many years, before feeling able to report what had happened to them.

“I hope the guilty verdicts and the sentence handed out to Slater helps them to put a traumatic time in their lives behind them and provides a semblance of closure for them."

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