A man has been jailed for 15 years for historic sexual abuse of children.
David Walker, 54, of Foxfield Road, Manchester, was found guilty of five counts of buggery, one count of rape and one count of indecent assault at Manchester Crown Court.
The court heard how Walker had started his offending at a young age, with the first victim explaining that he had been abused in late 1970s while Walker was still a teenager.
The victim, who was around five or six at the time, said Walker came into his bedroom while he was sleeping, restrained him and raped him.
The rapes took place several times over the course of a few weeks.
At around the same time, Walker was abusing another boy aged between 3 and 5 years old.
In an account strikingly similar to the other attacks, the second victim told the court how Walker entered his bedroom while he was sleeping and raped him.
He admitted that the abuse had torn his life apart, making him unable to trust people and believing it had driven him to a life of drink, drugs and gangs after he left school.
A third victim, a 12-year-old girl, was abused by Walker in 1991.
Walker indecently assaulted her whilst she was in her bed.
A five-year-old girl was also abused by Walker in 1993.
Once again Walker indecently assaulted and raped the victim while she was asleep in bed, as the victim’s sister slept in the top bunk.
Detective Constable Susan Hazell said: “David Walker has left these poor victims with traumatising memories which will unfortunately last a lifetime.
“He is a predatory paedophile, attacking when the opportunity arose, when these poor children were unfortunate enough to have been in the same house as him as they slept.
“One of the men has admitted that this abuse has dramatically changed his life for the worst, leaving him with mental health issues which have led him down a self-destructive path.
“That is the effect this type of abuse has on these victims, it can destroy lives and leaves a devastating legacy which many find hard to free themselves from.
“This conviction only came about after they were brave enough to come forward to police and share their ordeals.
“I want the public to know that if they were victims of similar abuse in the past, no matter how long ago it was, that they can rely on the police to listen, understand and investigate to the fullest extent.
“They will be believed, they will be supported and they can trust that we will do everything in our power to bring the perpetrators of this abuse to justice.”
