Paedophile who lured boys with cigarettes, alcohol and free mobile phones jailed (From Your Local Guardian)

Epsom paedophile Peter Wagerfield who lured boys with cigarettes, alcohol and free mobile phones jailed

7:30am Thursday 27th September 2012 in Top Stories By Hardeep Matharu

A paedophile who used cigarettes, alcohol and free mobile phones to lure young boys into his clutches has been sent to prison for life with no maximum term set.

Peter Wagerfield, 43, admitted carrying out 23 sex offences against four boys who were aged 11 to 13 - including rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and making indecent photographs.

Wagerfield, who was living in Epsom at the time of the offences, was given an indeterminate prison sentence with a minimum 14 years to be served, at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday, September 20.

Now living in Pudsey, Wagerfield had pleaded guilty in August to the extensive list of offences which took place between May 2011 and January this year.

The offences included rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, inciting a boy between the age of 13 and 15 to engage in a sexual act, and making indecent photographs.

Wagerfield befriended the boys by buying them cigarettes and alcohol and allowing them to smoke and drink in his home. He also bought mobile telephones for two of the boys without the knowledge of their parents, repeatedly texting and calling them using these numbers.

Wagerfield had even taken the boys to hotels and encouraged them to engage in sexual activity with each other in his presence.

He was finally caught on January 27 after the mother of one of the victims contacted the police saying she believed Wagerfield was grooming her son and three of his friends.

Detective Constable Trudie Harrison, who led the investigation, said the indeterminate sentence handed to Wagerfield sent "a strong message" condemning sexual offending.

She said: "Wagerfield groomed these four boys over several months, plying them with alcohol and cigarettes and buying them expensive mobile phones in an effort to win their trust.

"His offending started with him touching them appropriately but this quickly escalated to far more serious sexual offences."

He also took deliberate steps to hide the fact that he bought mobile phones for their boys from their parents.

"The sentence given today reflects the severity of his offending and sends a strong message that grooming and sexual offending of this nature will not be tolerated.

"This conviction also demonstrates Surrey Police's commitment to treat any allegation of a sexual nature extremely seriously and its commitment that they will always be thoroughly investigated.

"I would also like to commend the victims for their bravery in coming forward under these extremely difficult and harrowing circumstances."