Last updated at 15:15, Monday, 19 November 2012

A former Carlisle Cathedral canon who sexually abused three boys has been jailed.

Ronald Johns, formerly of Cumbria but now Norwich: Jailed for four years after he admitted 10 sexual offences against three boys

Related: Ex-Cumbrian vicar admits child sex charges

Ronald Johns, 75, used pornographic films and whisky to groom his victims.

At Carlisle Crown Court today, he was sentenced to four years in prison.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register and was banned from working with children for life.

Earlier, Johns apologised for his crimes.

The court heard about the devastating impact of the abuse on the teenagers he targeted.

One, aged 14 when the abuse began, said: "There was a part of me that died when I was in my teens."

Johns, now living in Coltishall in Norwich, had admitted 10 sexual offences against three boys between 1983 and 1991.

After the sentencing, a diocese spokesperson said: “A prison sentence can never be a matter of pleasure, nor can it put right wrongs that were done, but the sentence given to Ronald Johns today is just and fair and reflects the gravity of his offences.

“We know that those abused can be manipulated by the abuser so that they are the ones who end up feeling guilty, while the abuser attempts to excuse himself. The Diocese of Carlisle therefore hopes that Ronald Johns’ victims will feel that this sentence lays clear the truth: Ronald Johns did wicked things, which were not their fault or responsibility."

And temporary Detective Inspector Gary McFadden, the investigating officer, said: “Johns abused his position of trust to commit heinous crimes against children - and now, almost 20 years on, he has received his punishment."

Johns is a former canon of Carlisle Cathedral but also worked in Liverpool, Borrowdale and Caldbeck.

First published at 13:16, Monday, 19 November 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk