Anthony Gorringe, 58, from Stevenage, has been jailed for 24 years for raping and sexually abusing two vulnerable teenagers, St Albans Crown Court heard. The court described him as a predatory and manipulative sexual deviant who stopped at nothing to obtain what he wanted.
Gorringe first assaulted a 15-year-old girl after she approached him for a job at a supermarket where he worked. He befriended her and her mother, buying her gifts in what prosecutor Alan Blake described as 'the systematic corruption of a child'. The abuse continued for four years, during which Gorringe forced the girl to engage in sexual activity with others.
One of those men, Barry Gaynor, 52, of Bude Crescent, Stevenage, was convicted of raping the child and jailed for six years. The court heard that Gorringe also befriended an 'awkward and vulnerable' teenage boy while working as a takeaway delivery driver, and raped and sexually abused him between 2004 and 2007.
Gorringe was convicted of 22 sex offences, including three counts of rape against the girl and two against the boy, and one count of causing child prostitution. Recorder Stephen Lennard described him as a 'dangerous offender' and imposed an eight-year licence extension, meaning he can be recalled to prison up to the age of 90.
Det Insp Iain MacPherson, of Hertfordshire Police, praised the victims' courage, saying: 'Gorringe eroded the free will and self-esteem of two young people so completely that their courage in facing him and giving evidence is all the more remarkable.'
