A BOY groomed by a predatory printer said he was “easy prey” for the older man.

The victim, now an adult, was sexually assaulted by 51-year-old Lee Jacobs from the age of around 12.

Jacobs had denied three counts of indecent assault but, after a trial lasting a week at Swindon Crown Court, jurors delivered unanimous guilty verdict to all three charges.

Remanding the Jacobs into custody yesterday, Judge Jason Taylor QC said: “It will come as no surprise to you that you fall now to be sentenced for extremely serious offences for which there can only be a significant custodial sentence.”

Jacobs, of Narre Warren South, Melbourne, and who was extradited from Australia to stand trial in the UK, will be sentenced on June 9.

During the trial, the victim told of how he was sexually abused by Jacobs over a period of around three to four years during his early teens. He said the older man would perform oral sex on him.

Jacobs, who initially came to the UK to buy a rare Ford Sierra Cosworth car, extended his stay from three months to three years in the late 1990s and even set up his own printing business in Swindon.

Prosecutors dismissed his explanations that he had extended his stay as he did not have enough money to send the car home and was then investing in his business, saying he had an ulterior motive for wanting to remain in the UK – to abuse the boy.

The victim said he had been “easy prey” for the older man and accused Jacobs of abusing him “whenever he wanted his fix”.

The boy’s mother suggested that Jacobs had manipulated her. “We were groomed. He said he would come over and help.”

Jurors heard the abuse came to light on Christmas Day 2016, after the victim told his partner that he’d been molested by Jacobs. The matter was reported to the victim’s sister and children’s charity the NSPCC.

Jacobs denied all the allegations against him and denied being sexually attracted to young boys.

His barrister, Puneet Grewal, pointed to a statement from the victim’s former partner, who remembered being told when she was around 19 that he had been forced to perform oral sex on Jacobs – whereas the prosecution alleged the role was reversed.

Ms Grewal told the jury: “Is it the victim confusing matters? Is it the victim changing matters? It is the victim exaggerating matters? Because later what he says to his partner – you know – is entirely different.

“It is not for Mr Jacobs to say why. In fact, you may think he’s not able to say why. But a question no doubt you will have.”

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