RILEY: PERVERT PROMISED VICTIM A GO ON HIS GAMES CONSOLE

A paedophile is facing jail after being convicted of tricking a primary school child into performing a sex act on him more than a decade ago.

Anthony Riley, 27, promised the boy, then aged five or six, a turn on a games console if he agreed to carry out the sordid act, the Old Bailey heard.

The boy, now aged 17, told his mother about the incident shortly before Christmas 2009 after his girlfriend confessed that she too had been a victim of child sex abuse.

Riley, who was a teenager at the time of the incident, was today (Thurs) found guilty of a single count of indecency with a child, which occurred in Welwyn Garden City on an unknown date between November 5, 1998, and November 4, 2000.

He was immediately ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register before leaving the building.

Releasing him on unconditional bail pending his sentencing on September 30, Recorder Sir Geoffrey Nice QC told him to expect a prison term.

‘This may prove to be quite a difficult sentencing exercise,’ he said.

‘The defendant must understand that the court will be required to impose a custodial sentence.

‘The fact that you are going to have bail is without indication as to what the final conclusion may be.’

Following the verdict, Riley cradled his head in his hands as he sat in silence in a corridor outside the courtroom.

During the trial, the boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said Riley had convinced him that there was nothing wrong with what he was doing.

‘He made it seem like a good thing, like it was normal.

‘He just persuaded me – I don’t think I wanted to do it, and he just kept on.  I didn’t understand.

‘He did let me have a go on the TV afterwards.’

Riley and his alleged victim, from Welwyn Garden City, never spoke of the events again, he said.

The 17-year-old, who gave evidence via video-link from elsewhere in the building, said: ‘I’ve thought about it quite a lot actually – it’s not something you want to really remember.

‘I never wanted him to suffer for it, I just want people to stop calling me a liar.

‘That’s all I want.’

Riley, of (99) Chelwood Avenue, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, denied one count of indecency with a child.

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