This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-38857036
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Ex-Sheffield City Council boss Roger Dodds jailed for sex abuse | Ex-Sheffield City Council boss Roger Dodds jailed for sex abuse |
(35 minutes later) | |
An ex-council boss who forced teenagers to engage in sex acts to get grant payments has been jailed for 16 years. | |
Roger Dodds, 81, also abused colleagues while working for Sheffield City Council's education department between 1953 and 1993. | |
The council has been accused of failing to act and moved Dodds to a position working with schools after complaints. It said it was now "deeply sorry". | The council has been accused of failing to act and moved Dodds to a position working with schools after complaints. It said it was now "deeply sorry". |
In December Dodds admitted indecently assaulting four men and a young boy. | |
Read more about this and other stories from across Yorkshire | |
In the 1970s Dodds, of Cotswold Road, Sheffield, was responsible for providing grants to college and university students. | |
The court heard he had used his position to abuse teenagers, forcing students to engage in sexual acts in order to get grant payments. | |
He also indecently assaulted colleagues. | |
'Shame and disgust' | |
His offending went unchallenged despite his victims alerting his employers. Two separate internal investigations into allegations made against him. | |
In the 1980s he was investigated by Sheffield City Council following complaints from colleagues but was moved to a different council post, working with schools. | |
Further allegations in 1993 led to a second council investigation after which Dodds was allowed to take early retirement package with an enhanced pension. | |
One employee said hearing about the complaints gave him the courage to tell managers about the abuse he had been subjected to. | |
The five victims were at Sheffield Crown Court to hear him sentenced. | |
In an impact statement read out in court, one victim said he was just 17 when he was abused by Dodds which had left him feeling such "shame and disgust" he was unable to tell anyone for 20 years. | |
He said: "I went in complete trust to the council buildings to pick up expenses that I needed. | |
"What happened to me in those council offices shaped my view about myself and other people." |