A REMORSELSS sex offender who groomed and molested two boys using “psychological manipulation” was last night behind bars – still denying his crimes.

Roy Willans, from Billingham, near Stockton, groomed two schoolboys with alcohol, cigarettes, video games, camping trips and even ferrets , a court was told.

The pizza shop worker, now aged 57, showed pornography to the boys and sexually assaulted them more than a decade ago – but made them feel at fault.

Prosecutor Shaun Dodds said Willans acted on a sexual attraction to boys and tempted the vulnerable victims with seeing ferrets at his home.

He said of the victims, now adults: “Both of them were impressive witnesses. There’s a curious background of almost psychological blackmail.”

Willans made the boys feel to blame when they resisted or challenged him – calling one a “tease” and giving another a “guilt trip” to stop them reporting him.

He told a boy he would be beaten up for being gay and would have no friends if he told anyone, Mr Dodds told Judge Tony Briggs at Teesside Crown Court.

During a trial last month, Mr Dodds said Willans's “classic predator conduct” made his young victims feel guilty about what had happened to them.

He told the jury that the boys made independent complaints and gave "honest accounts with common features" - and both had been scarred for life.

He described one as a “lost soul” who spoke out years later after falling into drug use, ending up in prison and was asked by a listener to write down his troubles.

In a powerful victim impact statement, he said his experiences left “images burned in my head for years”, and told how it has affected his relationships with girls, education and career prospects.

He said he felt dirty and disgusting but felt he could not tell anyone, became quiet and withdrawn, lost confidence and used drugs to block out his ordeals.

Willans, of Finchale Avenue, Billingham, denied 20 charges, but was convicted unanimously of 11 offences - five of indecent assault, six of indecency with a child - against both victims.

The jury cleared him of nine charges - one of rape, three of indecent assault, two of sexual assault and three of indecency with a child.

He denied grooming or touching the boys, giving them alcohol or showing them pornography and said nothing sexual happened with them, and claimed allegations were lies and “absolute nonsense”.

Pamela Brain, defending, said Willans maintained his stance from the trial, said he had a difficult upbringing and offended in his earlier life but settled down after a 1987 prison sentence.

She said the grandfather had heart problems, had to stop work late last year and had a triple bypass operation earlier this year.

Judge Briggs said Willans hoped to get away with the abuse, and told him: “You do not accept guilt. There is no element of remorse in you as far as one can see.

“Be under no illusion, this is a very serious matter indeed. It’s perfectly plain that grooming took place and a subtle form of psychological manipulation, when it appears things had gone rather further than they expected.”

He jailed Willans for nine years with one year’s extended licence, and ordered him to sign on the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life.