David Byrne 62

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'It is only through the courage of the three victims coming forward that you have been brought to justice today and I pay tribute to them'

A convicted sex offender has been sent back to jail for abusing three boys more than 30 years ago. David Byrne, 60, was convicted after a trial of six offences against victims in the mid 1980s.

Some of the offences were committed when the victims were under 13 but spanned several years. The defendant, of The Hill, Langport, has a history of similar offending and was jailed for six years for crimes against other children in 2018.

A judge at Taunton Crown Court sent him back to prison on Friday (March 4). Byrne was jailed for six years and four months.

The offences involved touching the children while they were naked. The victims said in statements read in court that they had suffered psychological issues as a result of the abuse and from trying to bury all memory of what Byrne did to them.

One said the experience of coming to court to give evidence had been 'horrendous' but he slept afterwards knowing he had done the right thing. Mr Patrick Mason, defending, said Byrne was an intelligent man who for many years had run a gardening business. He was now virtually bankrupt.

Judge James Townsend said: "I have to sentence you for an appalling series of acts on young boys in the 1980s.

"It is only through the courage of the three victims coming forward that you have been brought to justice today and I pay tribute to them. Not only did you cause them suffering at the time they had to live through years with the memories and speak publicly about embarrassing issues and they have done a public service."

He said a pre-sentence report prepared in 2018 assessed Byrne as a low risk of reoffending.

The defendant will serve half of his sentence in jail and the rest on licence. He is subject to the sex offenders register and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite period.

has issued a further statement on the sentencing, saying that the force hoped the renewed sentencing had

Investigating officer DC Vicki Edwards said: David Byrne has committed abhorrent offences against six boys and it was important we did all we could to obtain justice for each of them, which is why he was brought back before the court to face further charges.

I hope these new convictions will help all the victims find some form of closure and I want to thank each of them for the fortitude and courage theyve shown in speaking to us about the abuse theyve suffered.