Coseley paedophile who preyed on young girls gets 17 years

Kevin Giannoni struck after using alcohol and cigarettes to lure them to his home, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

The 53-year-old pervert groomed the victims by letting them do things their parents forbade, like staying out late, drinking and smoking, explained Miss Sharon Bahia, prosecuting.

Then, when they regarded him as an 'uncle' they could trust and confide in, he gave them 'lessons' in sex and boasted: 'I am a man with wise words and I know how to put them'. The court heard even pretended to be a St John Ambulance official to appear more trustworthy.

The girls said they frequented the address because they could do what they wanted and felt 'grown up' but once snared they were controlled by his threats to tell their parents what they got up to. "He believed he was invincible," continued Miss Bahia.

The girls were encouraged to play games with a sexual element and watched pornographic home movies during frequent visits to his address, where he took naked pictures of them after they had been plied with drink. Some were sexually assaulted on numerous occasions.

Giannoni, who lived alone, ignored a warning about his behaviour, which continued for eight years until one of the victims revealed details of the goings on at his home.

The defendant, of Cannon Drive, Coseley, was arrested in September 2016 by officers who discovered sexually explicit items and a pen camera at his home.

Naked pictures of the girls he had deleted from his computer were recovered with special software but he repeatedly denied the claims of the girls until the day after his trial had been due to start.

Miss Samantha Powis, defending, said: "He had no friends and no female companionship. That is no excuse for what happened but that was the context in which these offences were committed. He was particularly lonely."

Giannoni admitted making indecent images of children and sexual activity with children and was sent to prison for 17 and a half years by Judge Simon Ward who told him:"Some people have an idea that a paedophile must be repellent but they are often benign, pleasant people who children feel happy to be with until they get trapped and feel unable to tell people what has happened to them.

"You used the trust they put in you to lure them into your world of sexual perversion. You manipulated them socially so you could abuse them sexually and feed you perverted sexual appetite."