Locations
Bamburgh Court, Middlesbrough, TS4
Description
A sexual predator who plied two children with alcohol and drugs before attacking them has been caged for 24 years.
"Dangerous offender" Stephen Allen raped a young girl and also attacked her on other occasions - using the youngster as a "sexual plaything".
Some years later, the 51-year-old also encouraged a teenage boy to engage in sexual acts, before raping him, Teesside Crown Court heard.
As Allen was taken down by guards after being sentenced by judge Deborah Sherwin, the room burst into life as he furiously shouted: "F***ing bulls*** from start to finish, scruffy *****".
Commotion could also be heard from the public gallery as one woman shouted "f***ing joke" before the doors were aggressively slammed and banged - with further noise heard outside court five.
Prosecutor Aisha Wadoodi said "the defendant managed to facilitate the offences using alcohol and drugs", adding: "The Crown certainly think that this is a dangerous offender".
An emotional statement from one of the victims read out at the sentencing hearing said: "I cannot think of an aspect of my life that it has not affected."
It added: "I have had mental health issues as a result of this abuse."
The boy victim said: "I was a child and Stephen Allen abused the trust that I put in him."
Paul Abrahams, mitigating, said that his client "still denies the matters".
Allen, of Bamburgh Court, Middlesbrough, appeared to be sentenced for 14 counts including: two counts of rape, sexual assault and sexual activity with a child.
He pleaded not guilty to the offences and made his victims go through the ordeal of a trial where a jury convicted him in May this year.
Judge Deborah Sherwin agreed with the prosecution's assessment, branding Allen a "dangerous offender".
She sentenced him to 24 years in jail, with an extended period of eight years - a total of 32 years.
He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order.