'AREAS like Dorchester are virgin territory for drugs gangs.’
Children are being drawn into a life of crime and exploited by county lines drug gangs - says Lennox Rodgers, a former gang member.
Mr Rodgers turned from a life of crime after discovering God and now helps keep kids off the streets.
He spoke at The Storehouse Church in Dorchester about his new book Breaking Better, a true account of his life as a criminal.
He said: “Children at a younger age today are wanting to earn money and, in some cases, they are taking on the problems of their parents.
“The drugs trade is a billion-pound business, they (criminals) can make children do their dirty work.
“There’s a lot on the dole and they offer them drugs and money to let out them use their homes.
“They teach them (children) how to hide drugs, how to carry weapons, they put such fear in them, it’s really sad.
“They’re (the drug dealers) seeing Dorchester as virgin territory because London and big cities have got drug dealers working consistently, so they send children to areas like this.
“It’s through areas like this that they make the most of their money."
Mr Rodgers was a former armed robber and enforcer for gangs in and around London and Oxford.
During his talk, he gave a heartbreaking account of what led him to a life of crime, including being taken into care at a young age and becoming a victim of racial and sexual abuse.
He discussed how he robbed and stabbed people and was filled with such anger and hatred that he was ready to commit murder.
It was only when he was one crime away from life imprisonment, that his life changed forever.
He experienced an epiphany, after committing a street robbery whilst homeless.
Mr Rodgers then handed himself in to police and admitted his crimes.
After serving a shorter prison sentence than expected, he began the Refocus Project, and now goes into prisons to speak and support convicts to help them turn their lives around.
He said: "Everybody is worth a chance, regardless of what they have done, you can show people a way out. It may not be easy, there may be ridicule, but there's still a way out.
"God knows the offender's story. He sees what we don't see. What we see is just the crimes they have committed, but God looks beyond our faults, he sees our hearts and minds.
"There are some people who may not forgive me. But I don't hold it against them. I have no right to expect them to forgive me. Hopefully through the good things I do that may change the way they feel, I try to understand where they are coming from. God bless them and I hope they will find it in their hearts one day, but I will continue to serve God that's the best I can do."
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