Perverted IT expert jailed for 22 years

An IT expert who sexually abused two girls for nearly a decade has been jailed for 22 years.

Mark Bolton, 55, appeared to be a ‘respectable family man’ while grooming his victims and using fear to secure their silence.

The paedophile also used covert hidden cameras to ‘further his sexual interest in children’, Kingston Crown Court heard.

Bolton, of New Malden, Surrey, was finally arrested after one of the victims spoke to a member of staff at their school.

An urgent police investigation was launched last December 1 and Bolton was arrested the same day.

Bolton was convicted by a jury of five counts of raping a child, two of attempted rape of a child, seven of sexual assault of a child, one of assault by penetration of a child and one of sexual activity with a child.

He was found guilty of two counts of causing a child to engage in or watch sexual activity and one count each of taking indecent photographs of a child and voyeurism.

Bolton, was jailed for 22 years, given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Detective Constable Katy Waddington who led the investigation by the Met’s South West BCU said: ‘The details of this case were some of the most distressing I have heard in six years investigating child abuse.

‘Mark Bolton sexually abused the children having groomed them and ultimately secure their continued silence.

‘He used covert hidden cameras and his knowledge of IT to further his sexual interest in children all the while positioning himself as a respectable family man.

‘I continue to be in awe of victims who come forward to face their abusers, even more so in cases where the abuse was by someone they trusted.

‘There are not enough words to describe the bravery and dignity shown. I hope the children and their relatives will find some peace moving forward, and the lengthy prison sentence will reassure them as they begin to rebuild their lives.’
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