A CARER who systematically abused vulnerable boys at a special school has been jailed for nine years.

Robin Carter indecently assaulted three boys aged between ten and 12 in the mid 1990s.

The 70-year-old worked at Ditton Place in Staplefield near Haywards Heath as a residential child care officer between 1984 and 2000.

The building closed in 2002 but had been part of nearby Brantridge School, a residential special school catering for boys with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

Officers started to investigate Carter in 2014 when an ex-pupil contacted the school as a witness to his behaviour.

A jury found Carter, of Lewes Road, Westmeston, guilty of ten offences after a 20-day trial. They acquitted him of one charge of indecent assault against one boy.

He was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court to nine years behind bars in total. This included six years each for three of the offences to run concurrently plus three years for the seven other offences. The latter will run concurrently to each other.

He will be a registered sex offender for life and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order restricting his access to boys.

The news follows a 12-year prison sentence for former teacher Martin Haigh who abused four boys in the 1970s.

Detective Constable Gilly Sadler said: “Over 18 months Carter had used his status with vulnerable young boys, all with various problems, to groom and systemically sexually abuse them. The victims bravely gave evidence against him at the trial.

“This case once again shows that we will always take seriously all such reports and will investigate wherever possible to seek justice and support for victims no matter how long ago the events occurred.”

Sussex Police said they wanted to “emphasise” the conviction had nothing to do with the current students and staff at Bantridge School. A police spokesman “The events happened more than 20 years ago and have no connection with current management or current or recent pupils at Brantridge School.”