Paedophile rapist jailed for life

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/somerset/8167210.stm

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A paedophile from Somerset who was convicted of a string of rapes and sexual assaults against girls as young as 11 has been jailed for life.

Martyn Coles, 55, was sentenced for 17 offences relating to rape and indecency with under-age girls.

At Taunton Crown Court Judge Graham Hume Jones said Coles would have to serve a minimum of 15 years before he would be eligible for parole.

All the attacks happened at his home in Milverton over an eight-year period.

Coles was not in court to hear his sentence read out on Friday morning.

During his trial Taunton Crown Court was told he preyed on "vulnerable and impressionable" girls, luring them to his home with the promise of drink, drugs and cigarettes.

The guilty verdicts on 2 July followed nearly four days of deliberation by the jurors, who were released from the obligation of jury duty for life by the judge.