Army Cadet sergeant who sexually abused Liverpool boys jailed

Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said Finnigan abused his "position of trust and responsibility and power"

A "depraved" colour sergeant who abused Army Cadets while working as an instructor has been jailed.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Stephen Finnigan groomed four boys with cigarettes and beer before assaulting them while working at two bases in the city in the 1980s and 1990s.

The 63-year-old, from Sefton, was found guilty of 29 offences against the cadets and another fifth boy.

He was sentenced to 29 years and six months in prison.

Prosecuting, Trevor Parry-Jones told the court that Finnigan, of Longfield Road in Litherland, "seemed to have used the Army Cadets as a means of providing him with a source of boys whom he could groom and thereafter abuse".

"Those boys did not gain the security that they should have enjoyed and... suffered considerably both as a direct result of the assaults but also in their emotional development," he said.

He said the four cadets and the fifth boy had been between eight and 14 when Finnigan abused them and he had used gifts to groom them before his attacks.

'Determined predator'

Alongside his contact with them at the cadet bases and a flat where the boys gathered, Finnigan also took them to a firing range and on camping trips.

Mr Parry-Jones said on one trip, he sexually assaulted one of the boys, who was left so traumatised that he slept outside the tent all night and got hypothermia.

The prosecutor told the court one of those Finnigan attacked had contacted police after reading about the abuse committed by disgraced entertainer Jimmy Savile, while another reported him after seeing in the local press that he was receiving a medal for "exceptional service" to the Army Cadets.

Finnigan, who claimed the boys had conspired together to get him into trouble, shook his head and smiled as he was sentenced.

Jailing him, Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said Finnigan had "forced each of the victims concerned to attend court and be branded liars".

"You were a determined predator," he said.

"You abused your position of trust and responsibility and power over each of these boys."

Speaking after sentencing, Det Con Claire McDonald said his behaviour was "utterly appalling" and the men had shown "immense courage and bravery" in facing him.

A Merseyside Police representative added that the Army Cadet Force (ACF) had given "invaluable assistance" to the force's officers.

The ACF said it had "co-operated fully" with the investigation and had "clear safeguarding measures and procedures in place to ensure the protection and support of all cadets and adult volunteers".

It added that the measures included "security screening, rigorous disclosure checks and regular safeguarding training".

Additional reporting by Lynda Roughley.