Former scout leader jailed for sexual abuse

DAVID FERRON

A former scout leader who abused a number of young children in his care has been jailed.

David Ferron's abuse of nine young boys aged between nine and 14-years-old spanned more than 10 years, but today he is starting a 10-year jail sentence.

Ferron, 62, of Mills Hill Road, Middleton, pleaded guilty to 33 counts of various sexual offences including attempted buggery, indecent assault, gross indecency and possession of indecent images at an earlier hearing.

Today, 11 February 2011, he was jailed for 10 years at Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square, must sign the Sex Offender's Register for life and has been given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) that means he cannot work unsupervised with anyone under the age of 16 when he is released.

Between 1987 and 2001, Ferron was the leader of the 5th Middleton Scout Group, based out of a large scout hut on Durnford Street, Middleton. Although affiliated to the traditional scouting movement, Ferron later changed its status to a quasi-military youth group known as the Phoenix Rangers. All the children who attended - all young boys - wore military uniforms that Ferron supplied.

As the only leader, Ferron was so invested in the group that he moved into the hut and took it as his home.

He organised sleepovers and camping trips, during which the sexual abuse of the boys took place.

In 2001, the Rangers were disbanded when Ferron was convicted and jailed for a year for possessing indecent images of children. At that point, none of the members of the group disclosed to police they had been abused.

However, in 2009 two men came forward and told officers what had happened. Ferron was arrested and his computer was seized. Forensic analysis by the High-Tech Crime Unit revealed a number of indecent images of children and the Rochdale Police Child Protection Unit relaunched an investigation to speak to past members of the group.

During this investigation, a further seven men disclosed they had been abused as a child by Ferron.

Detective Sergeant Kevin Branney said: "As a scout leader, the parents of these young boys put their trust in Ferron and had no reason to believe he would not look after them. However, he took that trust and abused it in the worst way imaginable.

"He used his position as scout leader to get close to these young boys and then abused them.

"I cannot praise enough the men who have grown up knowing what Ferron did when they were young boys for the courage they have shown in coming forward and reliving what they went through. It shows tremendous bravery and because of that, we built up such a good case against Ferron that he had no choice but to admit his guilt. He now has a long time behind bars to think about the damage he has done.

"I also hope this case illustrates that Greater Manchester Police takes all reports of sexual abuse, whether they happened the day before or decades earlier, very seriously and we will do everything we can to see that the offender is brought to justice. No matter how much time elapses, such awful crimes can never be forgotten so please, if you have been a victim of abuse, call us and we will help you."

Anyone who has been a victim of rape or sexual assault can contact Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050 or 999 in an emergency. GMP has specially trained officers in place to provide a first class response to victims and help support them through the criminal justice process.

St Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Manchester, can also be contacted on 0161 276 6515. This provides a comprehensive and coordinated forensic, counselling and medical aftercare service to anyone in Greater Manchester who has experienced rape or sexual assault. Services are available on a 24-hour basis and people can access them either as a self-referral or via Greater Manchester Police.