A ONE-legged businessman who groomed young boys for sex after enticing them to his farm to ride quad bikes and motorcycles has been jailed for five years.

William Stevenson was sentenced in his absence as he did not appear for his trial and is believed to be in Spain, where he has a holiday home.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how the 67-year-old former owner of Colwin Motorcycles in Sittingbourne molested five boys, either at the farm in Detling or in Spain over about three years.

He denied 11 charges of indecent assault on a male and 13 of indecency with a child. He was convicted of all counts, except one of indecent assault.

The jury of six men and six women was out for about three-and-a-half hours before returning the unanimous verdicts.

They heard how Stevenson’s disappearance in June last year was publicised on television’s Crimewatch and in the Kent Messenger.

Deborah Charles, prosecuting, said Stevenson was retired, having owned the motorcycle shop in Hawthorn Road for about 30 years.

Using quad bikes and motorcycles on his extensive land at Barngarth Farm, Cox Street, Detling, he befriended youngsters.

One boy introduced Stevenson to several others and all were invited to the farm and his Spanish home.

Miss Charles said: "The Crown’s allegation is that an atmosphere of indecency was encouraged in various ways by providing boys with alcohol and occasionally cannabis to smoke and making pornographic videos available to them.

"Over a period of two to three years, boys were indecently assaulted in various ways and incited to commit acts of indecency with one another and Mr Stevenson.

"He made that sort of atmosphere and indecent behaviour seem normal, having encouraged them and groomed them into thinking it was.”

The allegations dated back to 1997 when one victim, now aged 17, was to tell police that he was introduced to Stevenson when he was about 12.

He and another boy played on the quad bikes and stayed overnight at the farm. During the evening Stevenson gave them alcohol and they smoked cannabis.

Stevenson put on pornographic videos and showed the boys an inflatable doll he wanted them to simulate sex with. Nothing further happened that time.

One of the boys did not go back for some time. He later went into the motorcycle shop and then continued to visit the farm.

Stevenson put his hand down the boy’s trousers while they were riding on a quad bike together, said the prosecutor. Back at the house, he rubbed the boy’s leg and put his hand under his shorts.

The youth later described being scared and almost crying about what was happening. Stevenson, said Miss Charles, groomed the boy with playful tickling for something more explicit.

Stevenson would call him his special boy. While staying at the house, Stevenson would call the boy into his bed saying: “Let’s have a night of passion.”

He would touch the boy indecently and get the boy to touch him.

Miss Charles said Stevenson had a peculiar appearance as he only had one leg.

When the youth was about 15, Stevenson asked him to dress up in girls’ clothes and pose for pictures for him while he pleasured himself.

The boy went to the Spanish holiday home twice. While on a two-week stay in 2002, Stevenson got the boy to use a sex toy on him. He also tried to use it on the boy, but he refused.

Stevenson also filmed the teenager bending naked over a table. He also filmed himself committing a sex act on the boy. He would behave indecently with the boy every night on the holiday, until another guest arrived.

Miss Charles said there were more indecent episodes back at the farm. The boy would pretend to be asleep at night because he wanted it to stop. He would wake up to find Stevenson standing over him naked.

On another occasion, the boy went to the farm with a friend and Stevenson wanted them to dress up in girls’ clothes. The boys refused and went to the woods with drink for the night.

Police searched the house last year and found various items, including a photo of the boy wearing lipstick.

Miss Charles said another boy, aged 15, went to the farm over one weekend in May 2003. On arrival, he and other boys were offered cannabis. Stevenson put on pornography to "get them in the mood". He then touched one boy and got two boys to touch each other.

He told one victim: "Make sure you don’t tell anyone about this, because it can get you into a lot of trouble and me."

The prosecutor said: "It explained why there was no immediate complaint of what was going on because they were being groomed into it."

Another boy, now 16, was at the farm in 2003 when Stevenson plied boys with brandy to lower their inhibitions before abusing them.

When arrested, he denied any impropriety and accused the youths of lying. Officers investigated further and found that he had been interviewed in 1997 about allegations made by a boy introduced to him when he was 14. He is now in his early 20s.

Miss Charles said the maximum sentence for the offences was 10 years imprisonment.

Ian Henderson, defending, said after the verdicts on Friday: "In the circumstances, I don’t forward any mitigation on behalf of Mr Stevenson. Clearly, he has not been here throughout the trial."

Passing sentence, Judge Michael Neligan said: "This was systematic corruption of young men under the cover of providing entertainment at his establishment. In my view, they are serious offences.

"Whether he can be found and brought back to serve his sentence rests with an authority other than mine."

Stevenson will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life and will be banned from working with children.