Durham Cricket sex offender coach jailed for third time

Michael Strange denied nine indecent assault charges

A former county cricket club coach has been jailed for the third time after a new victim came forward.

Michael Strange, 60, was jailed in 2012 and 2016 for abusing four boys in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Now he has been jailed for a further four and a half years after being found guilty of assaulting a fifth victim.

Police said the former Durham Cricket coach was once "revered as a hero" in cricket circles but was actually a "dangerous predator".

Strange, of Upton Street in Bensham, Gateshead, had denied nine indecent assault charges but was found guilty by jurors at Newcastle Crown Court.

The latest victim to come forward was abused by Strange as a teen during the early 2000s, Northumbria Police said.

'Never too late'

Strange would offer him lifts home, sometimes taking him to remote locations and forcing him to watch pornographic films, the force said.

Strange was jailed in 2012 for six years for the abuse of three boys going back to the 1990s and in 2016 he received a three-year sentence for the abuse of another boy in the early 2000s.

Det Con Ryan Askwith said: "Strange, once revered as a hero in cricket circles, is a dangerous predator that preyed on young boys under his tutorage.

"I want to praise his victims who have come forward to ensure justice has been carried out."

He said it was "never too late" for victims of historical abuse to come forward, adding: "We can still seek justice for those who have suffered."