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A man who sexually abused children at his wife's childminding business was sentenced on Friday to 22 years in prison for what the judge described as a "disturbing and distressing" case.

William Patterson from Magherafelt Road in Tobermore, County Londonderry, was previously convicted of 84 charges of sexually abusing children.

His victims included both pre-school and primary school boys and girls.

The youngest he abused was just three years old.

The abuse happened at his family home over a 13 year period starting in September 2005.

The charges Patterson denied included engaging in sexual activity in the presence of children, indecent exposure, causing or inciting children to engage in sexual activity and sexual assault.

'Dangerous man'

On Friday at Coleraine Crown Court, the judge told the court that Patterson was a "dangerous man" and that his behaviour was "highly concerning".

The court heard that Patterson groomed his victims, manipulating them and gaining their trust so he could abuse them.

The judge said "considerable planning went into the sexual assaults" saying that Patterson would "telephone his wife to get her to send the children to the shed when he was ready for the children to help him".

It was in the shed where Patterson sexually assaulted some of the children.

The court was told that Patterson's offending only stopped after he was arrested in 2018.

The judge concluded that after assessment, Patterson was deemed a high risk of reoffending and posed a significant risk to the public.

The judge said Patterson was a "prolific serial predator" and the impact of the abuse on the victims and the families had caused "long term emotional harm".

Patterson will spend 22 years in prison and is disqualified from working with or having access to children for life.

PSNI Det Ch Insp Kerry Brennan welcomed Patterson's sentencing and thanked those who came forward.

"No sentence is ever going to undo the horrific offending that William Patterson has inflicted upon his victims," she said.

"We absolutely applaud the bravery of the families, of the victims, especially supporting the police investigation."

She also encouraged victims of sexual abuse "irrelevant of when it happened" to get in contact with the police.

"We do not want dangerous predators like William Patterson in our society."