A VILE paedophile has been jailed for life for raping underage boys.

David Hough sexually assaulted three boys between 1996 and 2010 while he was living in the Doddinghurst area of Essex.

The offences came to light after officers from Humberside Police carried out a warrant at his address in Derwent Road, Scunthorpe as part of an investigation into indecent images of children.

Items including a mobile phone, tablet, and memory cards were seized during the warrant in April 2019 and when these were forensically analysed, images and videos of the abuse were found.

The 56 year-old was charged with string of sexual offences and initially admitted more than 20 offences including multiple counts of rape and inciting or causing a child to engage in sexual activity, as well as making and distributing indecent images of children, and possession of extreme pornographic images.

The indecent and extreme images offences were investigated by Humberside Police and refer to offences in North Lincolnshire in 2019 and Essex between 2007 and 2008.

He had denied one count of rape and indecent assault but on the first day of his trial at Grimsby Crown Court on Monday 17 February he admitted the offence and was jailed for life with a minimum of 10 years.

PC Christopher Longhurst, from Essex Police's West Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: "David Hough carried out a prolonged campaign of abuse against the victim, subjecting him to an ordeal which has had a psychological impact on him ever since.

"Those impacted by sexual abuse can endure a life-time of psychological effects. Hough now has a life-sentence of his own and this sends a strong message that abuse like his will be dealt with seriously.

"I hope this conviction shows that if you’re a victim of crime you deserve justice, regardless of when the offence took place.

"I want to pay tribute to the victims for their courage throughout this investigation and I hope conviction and sentencing will help them to move forward.

"We also believe there is the possibility Hough may have abused other young people when he lived in the Doddinghurst area so I would urge anyone who has been affected or has any information to come forward."

Call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.