A PAEDOPHILE who groomed three vulnerable victims and made them perform various sex acts upon him has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars.

Raymon Coburn, 70, of Greystone Close, Redditch, North Worcestershire, was unanimously found guilty of 17 historical child sex offences by a jury at Worcester Crown Court on Friday, January 23.

The charges related to offending, which mostly took place in Redditch, between 1974 and 1994.

All three victims contacted police separately and were not known to each other.

DS Lindsey Coleman, of West Mercia Police, said: “The length of the sentence passed reflects the severity of Coburn's crimes against children over a number of decades.

“He preyed upon the vulnerability of his victims and it is testament to their courage which has resulted in an extremely dangerous sex offender finally being brought to justice.

“I would like to praise the bravery of the three victims in this case. What they have been through is unimaginable and hopefully today will provide some form of closure that will help them to re-build their lives.

“I would also like to thank the witnesses whose testimony was key to securing this conviction and ensuring Coburn has been sent to prison for a long time.”

Coburn has a previous conviction for taking indecent images of children.