Paul Adams 76

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A COURT heard moving statements from two young men who were sexually abused as teenagers by a former Workington teacher.

Paul Stuart Adams, 74, who was once responsible for pastoral pupil care at the school where he worked, was widely known throughout west Cumbria for his knowledge of theatre, music and the arts.

But he abused the trust people had for him by sexually exploiting two teenage boys who turned to him for advice and guidance.

Adams, of Banklands, Workington, denied more than a dozen charges relating to two teenage boys. The jury convicted of nine counts, including indecent assaults and paying for the sexual services of a child.

During this trial, the jury heard that Adams regarded as a 'pillar' of his local community was so trusted that parents were happy for their children to go to him for advice on theatre and acting.

The prosecution had outlined how one victim visited Adams at his home, where the pensioner ran his own recording studio. Adams gave the teenager whiskey before asking him to strip naked.

He told the boy that this would be a good way to prepare for being on stage.

After the abuse began, the boy turned to using drugs and alcohol to blank out what had happened to him; and Adams then took further advantage of the teenager, offering him cash in return for sexual favours.

He paid the boy between 100 and 200 in exchange for being touched sexually or he got the teenager to strip naked, the court heard. Described by one of the victims as a 'master manipulator,' Adams was particularly interested in spanking, The victim told Carlisle Crown Court.

As Adams watched from his prison video booth, the now adult victim courageously stood in court and read aloud his account of how the sexual abuse had ruined his life, robbing him of precious years of childhood.

He said that he had turned to drink and drugs cocaine and Ecstasy to blank out the pain of what Adams had done to him. At its height, his addiction involved him using those drugs every day.

The man told the court: In 2021, I received a diagnosis of PTSD as a result of this crime. I was suffering with nightmares and flashbacks particularly if I saw someone who matched the height and build of Paul.

I would wake up numerous times in the night in cold sweats. I would get flashbacks of the recording studio and what Paul did to me.

"I ended up taking time off work as a result of this as I couldnt cope.

The trauma reached a crisis point which saw the man have to walk out of work half way through his shift, he said.

He was off work for two months.

Since then, he had been given professional help that has included medications and therapy. Although I am much better, he said, what happened never leaves me. It is always a niggle in the back of my mind.

There is always something that triggers a memory or a thought bringing it to the forefront. Its still something that enters my mind daily.

The man spoke also of having self-harmed and how his trauma had left him struggling to hold down relationships. His drugs use had been a coping mechanism, he said.

Recalling how the abuse changed his life, the man said: My friends and I were always out together; we would be at the skate park, camping, doing the things that teenagers do.

When this started happening with Paul, these things stopped and by the time I came out of the emotional stress of what was happening I was in my early 20s and feel like I had the better years of my childhood taken from me.

The court also heard from the second victim, who came forward after reading in the News & Star about how Adams had been charged with child sex offences. He spoke of the profound effect.

This included feelings of self-hatred and sadness.

Now a young man, he suffered panic attacks and depression and returning to west Cumbria triggered painful memories of the abuse.

Richard Dawson, for Adams, said the defendants parents had died in their mid 70s and he feared that the jail term he faced would effectively be a life sentence. His time on remand has been particularly difficult for him, said the barrister.

He added that the risk posed by Adams was 'negligible.'

Judge Richard Archer said the defendant abused young men who turned to him for support and, from the evidence of the trial, he was satisfied that he had also abused a third boy and acted inappropriately towards another.

Noting that Adams was assessed as representing a significant risk of harm, the judge said the defendant continued to deny wrongdoing. Until he accepted his guilt, that risk would remain high, said the judge.

He told the defendant: You were a pillar of the Workington community.

Involved with local theatres for many years, Adams had been considered a worldly man, with experience of life beyond west Cumbria and knowledge of the stage and the arts.

It was that reputation and experience that led to both your victims visiting you at your home," said the judge. Adams paid for sexual services from one boy at least six times and one of the victims was just 15 when Adams first abused him.

Adams was jailed for seven years.

He will remain on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further order. This prevents him from having access to any child unless the parent or guardian is aware of his offending history and unless he has the express permission of Social Services.

Nor can he live in any household where there is also a child resident. Adams will be released on licence when he reaches the half-way point in his sentence.