Police Community Support Officer jailed for string of sex attacks on young teenage boys

A PCSO who helped organise 'stranger danger' days for school children has today being jailed for abusing two vulnerable young boys.
Gary Hastings, 48, was condemned as a 'predatory paedophile' as he was ordered to serve 10 years behind bars.
He abused the boys, aged 14 and 15, in his home in Hull, East Yorkshire, over a period of two years.

Paedophile: PCSO Gary Hastings 48, had helped to organise school days warning children of the danger of strangers

The PCSO had helped organise a ‘Kids And Cops’ event for schoolchildren in Immingham, Lincolnshire, where he advised kids of the danger of strangers during school holidays.
The Humberside Police worker resigned from his post when the offences came to light.
Today at York Crown Court, the Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, told Hastings, who was also a foster carer and had worked with children throughout his life: 'This is in any view an extremely serious case.

 

'It has been made more serious by the fact that you have offended against two young boys who were vulnerable at the time.
'One of the victims, who was 14 at the time, said in his victim personal
statement that you have completely messed up his life. It has left him feeling acutely embarrassed and ashamed.'

Jail: Gary Hastings, 48, covers his face as he is led into a prison van after being sentenced to 10 years behind bars at York Crown Court today

Condemned: PCSO Gary Hastings was today jailed for 10 years

Prosecuting, Simon Kealey told the court that Hastings, who became a PCSO with Humberside Police in March 2008, first abused one of his victims, a 14-year-old boy, when he took him on a trip to Newcastle.
The defendant met his second victim, 15, on a gay chat website and on their first meeting told Hastings that he was at school and studying his GCSEs.
Despite this, Hastings engaged in 25 counts of oral sex and 30 counts of anal sex with the boy.
On occasions when the schoolboy arrived to meet Hastings in his school uniform, the court was told, the defendant asked him to change, telling him that he 'didn't want to be thought of as a paedophile'.
Judge Ashurst praised the two young victims, who were spared the trauma of giving evidence in court as Hastings pleaded guilty to seven counts of child sex abuse in May.
He said: 'This case is an example of the courage of young abuse victims in
coming forward.
'There was here a very thorough and painstaking investigation and as a result of the courage shown by both victims, it is a demonstration that that is the only way in which predatory paedophiles can be brought to justice.
'There was a huge disparity in age in this case. You were three times as old as these young boys.
'There was no affection and you have said that you did not find these two young boys attractive. I do not believe this for a minute.
'The fact that they were underage is a factor in your sexual makeup.'

Jailed: PCSO Gary Hastings was ordered to serve 10 years behind bars by Judge Stephen Ashurst, sitting at York Crown Court

In mitigation, Mark McKone said Hastings had 'destroyed his life' and as a former PCSO and convicted sex offender he would find prison life 'particularly difficult'.
Speaking about Hastings' role as a PCSO, Judge Ashurst said: 'You have
undergone training in child protection issues. You must have been aware of the particular risks and dangers with vulnerable teenage boys.
'In these circumstances you took advantage and abused that trust.
'The long term effects of this should not be underestimated. I have much hope that these two boys will be able to rebuild their lives and move on.'
Hastings was given a five-year sentence for each of his victims, to run
consecutively, meaning he will be jailed for a total of ten years.
He was also made subject to a sex offenders prevention order, which limits his contact with children.
Superintendent Ray Higgins, head of the Professional Standards Branch at Humberside Police, said: 'I welcome the sentence that has been handed out today.
'I recognise that Gary Hastings pleaded guilty at a very early stage and so has prevented his victims from being put through the traumatic experience of a lengthy trial, but nevertheless, it was his appalling abuse of trust that lead to these young men becoming victims and no doubt their experiences will live with them for the rest of their lives.
'Hastings worked for Humberside Police as a PCSO between 2008 and 2011 and underwent the necessary vetting procedures before being taken on by the force.
'He was suspended from duty in August 2011 when this investigation was underway and he later then resigned from the force in January of this year.'


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