A VICTIM has spoken of his relief after the ‘predatory paedophile’ who abused him as a boy was convicted more than 30 years later.

Louis John Poyner, 86, was found guilty of four charges of indecency with a child under the age of 14 following a trial at Dorchester Crown Court.

The charges related to accusations that he committed indecent acts with one boy in his allotment shed on several occasions between 1975 and 1979 and similar allegations relating to another boy between 1988 and 1992.

Both victims were aged around eight to ten years old at the time of the offences.

After spending five-and-a-half hours deliberating, the jury of four men and eight women were unable to come to a verdict on two other charges of indecency with children relating to two further alleged victims in the 1970s.

Prosecutor Stephen Parish said the Crown Prosecution Service would not be seeking a retrial on the two unresolved counts.

The two victims, who gave evidence during the four-day trial, both said Poyner, of Love Lane, Weymouth, had abused them on a number of occasions after inviting them into his allotment shed to look at ‘girly’ magazines.

After the verdict the first victim, who came forward to the police in April last year, said: “I feel that justice has been served to this predatory paedophile.

“We have lived with this since our childhood and this brings an end to the anguish experienced over this long period and we can now look forward to getting some normality into our lives.

“Our thanks go to our legal team, Mr Stephen Parish QC and Detective Constable Simon Bond for their help and support throughout this whole process.”

Following the convictions the case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared and for Poyner’s legal team to obtain a medical report.

Judge Roger Jarvis told the defendant: “You have been convicted by this jury of some very serious matters, but I want to find out more about you before I make my mind up on the appropriate punishment.”

Poyner was also placed on the sex offenders’ register, with the period he will spend on the register to be fixed at the sentencing hearing on October 18.

Police praise victims' courage

DC Simon Bond, who oversaw the investigation into Poyner's offending, prasied the courage of the victims who gave evidence in the case.

He said: "The child protection team is very pleased with the verdict.

"It's taken a lot of courage and strenght for the victims to come forward after a number of years and they were very happy justice has been done.

"We encourage everyone in a similar situation to come forward."