Timothy Darch guilty of Swindon child sex crimes

Timothy Darch was found guilty of sexual assaults and rapes dating back to the 1990s

A 62-year-old Gloucestershire man has been found guilty of numerous sex crimes involving children.

Timothy Darch was convicted of four counts of indecent assault and four counts of rape against three victims - all boys under the age of 16.

Wiltshire Police said the offences took place between 1996 and 1997 in Swindon.

Det Con Ross Duff said: "Darch met the young men through Swindon organisations such as support charities for young gay men."

He added: "Darch put himself in a position of trust and exploited and took advantage of those vulnerable children.

"I would like to thank his victims for their incredible bravery throughout this process, by giving their evidence to police and throughout the trial.

"I hope that this verdict reassures our community that we take these allegations very seriously, and that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

"We will relentlessly pursue offenders to secure justice for their victims and want to reassure anyone who reports incidents of serious sexual assault and rape to us that they will be believed".

Darch, of Southrop Road, Kingsway, Quedgeley, will be sentenced at Swindon Crown Court on 28 March.