THE parents of two young boys sexually abused by a teenager have spoken of their anger after his sentence was cut on appeal.

Mark Anthony Smith, of Park Lane, Darlington, groomed and befriended the young boys, before raping and abusing one and sexually assaulting three more when he was aged 17.

The teenager, now 19, was jailed for nine years and four months at Teesside Crown Court in November for ten sexual assaults and one rape.

However, last week, three senior judges at the Court of Appeal said the sentence was 'manifestly excessive' and reduced it to seven years.

The parents of two of his victims - one of whom was raped and abused, the other sexually assaulted – have hit out at the decision, saying it makes a mockery of the justice system.

Speaking exclusively to The Northern Echo, they said: “We were shocked, angry and frustrated that the appeal was granted.

“It is absolutely devastating. We feel like we have been completely let down by the justice system.

“No sentence is long enough for what he has done, but we felt nine years and four months reflected what he did.

“But now he has got his seven years, he will be out in three and if he has been a good boy, he will get let out even earlier, but we are going to have to live with this for the rest of our lives.

“We are always going to be wondering was it our fault? Should we have noticed what was happening?”

At Smith’s original hearing, the court heard that he committed the abuse after watching similar acts on YouTube and had searched the internet for "naked children", "kids in the bath" and "kids on X-Factor".

His barrister, Joanne Kidd, said he was immature, has more in common with young children and suffers from Tourette's syndrome, which made him a target.

At the Court of Appeal, she told the court the rape was ‘very short-lived’, which was met with anger by the victim’s parents.

“Whether he has done it once, twice, or 20 times, there is no excuse. We have to live with the effect for the rest of our lives,” they said.

“They said he has low self-esteem and had been bullied, but it isn’t an excuse. He knew what he was doing was wrong.

“They [the victims] thought of him as being a friend. We had to sit down with them and reassure them that they had done nothing wrong and that it wasn’t their fault.

“He has shown no remorse for what he has done – he is not sorry at all.”

Following their ordeal, the parents of the victims are calling for greater support for victims and their families, and for better communication with the courts.