COURT: Nidderdale man jailed for historical sexual abuse faces further charges

John Michael Kendrew, 72, was sentenced in March last year after he admitted seven counts of indecent assault, five charges of gross indecency and one more offence.

The offences happened when Kendrew was living in Pateley Bridge between 1982 and 1985.

The two victims were under-age teenage boys.

Kendrew denied the charges but was convicted by a jury after trial.

On Tuesday, Kendrew, of Galphay, Ripon, was back in the dock at York Crown Court to face seven further charges dating back to 1979.

They included six counts of indecent assault against two under-age boys, one of whom was not even in his teens when the attacks took place.

Kendrew, a former Merchant Navy seaman, admitted all but two of the indecent assaults. The offences spanned 17 years - from July 1979 to October 1996.

He also pleaded guilty to one further offence, which occurred in the early 1990s. Neither of the two victims can be named for legal reasons.

Prosecutor Gerald Hendron said the two not-guilty pleas to indecent assault were acceptable to the Crown because Kendrew admitted four other counts.

The denied matters were allowed to lie on file.

Kendrew, who is married with a family, was found guilty of the original charges after the jury heard evidence about his grooming behaviour towards two teenage boys.

The former travelling salesman and motorbike enthusiast - who was looked upon as something of a local character before his crimes came to light - was arrested in January 2014 after the victims, by now middle-aged adults, plucked up the courage to report the crimes to police.

In relation to the original charges which went before a jury, Mr Hendron said Kendrew would drive the boys to isolated spots such as Silver Hill in Pateley Bridge, where he would park up in quiet lanes and persuade them to look at pornographic magazines, before sexually assaulting them.

He also lured them to his home where he abused them while his wife was out.

Following this week’s hearing on the new charges, Judge Guy Kearl QC adjourned sentence to February 12.