A SCHOOL caretaker "used and abused" his position to commit sex crimes against four children, a court heard yesterday.

James Hodgson is said to have treated youngsters to presents and sweets to gain their confidence and buy their silence.

A jury at Teesside Crown Court was told that he warned one boy he would kill his mother if he ever spoke of the abuse.

The young lad kept quiet out of fear, but his mood altered dramatically and he stopped enjoying going to school, it is said.

Prosecutor Paul Cleasby told the jury of seven women and five men: "This threat, we say, had a profound effect on him.

"He made an excuse to move schools, but the real reason he wanted to move schools was that he was scared of Mr Hodgson.

"He had started to have nightmares, and at first his mother thought he was being bullied at school and asked him."

The prosecution say the abuse came to light after police received a complaint from the family of a girl last September.

An investigation led to other pupils at the County Durham school complaining they had been targeted by the caretaker.

One girl said Mr Hodgson, 61, exposed himself to her after she was invited into his office, and once in the pupils' toilets.

Another said she was followed into the loos and the caretaker looked over the top of the cubicle, and he often hugged her.

Mr Hodgson, denies voyeurism, four sexual assaults, and two each of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

After his arrest, Mr Hodgson, of Moorside, Spennymoor, County Durham, admitted hugging children, but denied abusing them.

Mr Cleasby said: "The prosecution say they have no reason to lie about what they have seen and what they have experienced.

"The prosecution case is that this defendant has used and abused his position of trust to get close to some children.

"He would engineer situations and popularity by giving out sweets and presents to ensure children would visit him in his room."

The trial continues.