Paedophile who preyed on young boys for decades across south London is jailed for 31 years

A pensioner - who posed as a doctor to prey on vulnerable young boys for over four decades and told them they could be models - is facing dying behind bars after he was jailed for more than 30 years.

Nigel Clayton, 73, sexually attacked seven young boys for more than 40 years - including one victim who was abused for over three decades.

Many of the boys did not have a father figure in their lives, so Clayton offered them gifts and hired them for odd jobs in order to carry out rapes and sex assaults.

Beginning around 1976 until 2017, the abuse happened in various places around south London, including one assault at a funeral.

Clayton also used a car garage office he claimed to jointly own to carry out the abuse - even setting up a bed inside.

He used a string of tactics to get close to victims, including persuading many of them to do odd jobs in return for a small amount of cash, police said.

The paedophile also offered gifts, held debts over the boys, threatened them and later started using physical force to get them to do what he wanted.

The victims were all boys or young adults when they were abused and in the majority of cases had no relationship with their biological father - which Clayton used to his advantage - according to Scotland Yard.

He also lied to try and justify his actions - claiming to be a doctor, saying he knew about child development, or that he knew about the modelling industry.

Detective Constable Candice Burley said after Clayton was jailed: “Clayton is a predatory and manipulative individual who specifically targeted victims he knew to be vulnerable; engineering situations which afforded him close contact with them in order to carry out his abuse.

“One victim was under his control for more than 30 years, suffering regular sexual assaults. The long term effect of such prolonged abuse is difficult to comprehend.”

Clayton’s decades of abuse were finally halted when in 2016, one man called police to report the attacks he had been subjected to, leading to another six victims being discovered.

Clayton, from Sutton, south London, was arrested last February and charged with a string of child sex offences.

At Croydon Crown Court on Monday, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for 31 counts of sexual assault, rape and possessing indecent images.

He had previously pleaded not guilty, but was convicted by a jury following a trial in May.

DC Burley said there could still be more victims of Clayton who had not yet come forward.

She added: “I extend my utmost respect and thanks to all of the victims for their courage in speaking up and ensuring Clayton was brought to justice for his heinous crimes.

“It is of course possible there are further victims out there and I would urge anyone with information to come forward.

“You will be supported by specially trained officers who, as this conviction shows, are committed to the investigation of sexual offences and ensuring those responsible are held accountable.”