Prolific Hove paedophile 'could have abused hundreds'

Michael Green, 80, from Hove, will serve at least two-thirds of a 17-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being found guilty of abusing four boys between 1973 and 1993.

At the time of the abuse, the boys were between 13 and 16 years of age.

A court heard how Green, who was a friend and mentor of child killer Roy Whiting, abused the trust of the boys in his position as a sports coach to attack children.

The predator denied all charges, forcing his victims to relive the horror they suffered at his hands.

He was jailed for nine years in 2014 and sentenced to a further nine years imprisonment in 2018 for sex attacks on children.

More men came forward after a newspaper came forward after newspapers published a picture of Green with Roy Whiting.

He will almost certainly die in prison and could face more charges, with police believing many more victims have never come forward.

A source close to the investigation said: “There are potentially hundreds of victims.

“We know Green was prolific, driven and determined. Green ran clubs every night of the week and at weekends when he wasn’t coaching at school.

“Green worked at a prestigious public school where there were plenty of vulnerable boys for him to prey on.”

The source said that those who were abused, now in their 40s and 50s, are “broken” by the attacks and find it difficult to come forward

They said: “We know there are potentially hundreds more men out there. 

“This man has convictions spanning at least 25 years, just from the evidence which has been proved in court, we know there are many, many more.

“More men came forward after the first trial and even more got in touch after the second trial.

“We hope more men who have been reluctant to speak to police in the past can come forward now.”

Abuse has 'affected all areas of my life'

In emotional victim statements, four men described how the abuse they suffered at the hands of Green has had a lasting impact on their lives.

One of the survivors said: “Over the last 40 years, the stain of what he did to me has affected all areas of my life.

“To have to go through a cross-examination was cruel.

“I don’t know who I might have been have I not been abused by Mick Green.”

Green taught at Windlesham House School in Pulborough for 20 years, coached boys for basketball, cricket and ice hockey in clubs he started in Brighton and Sussex, and also used his position as a door-to-door insurance salesman to groom boys.

Judge Anne Arnold told Green: “It was your kind behaviour which enabled you to inveigle your way into homes and the school.

“Your continued and vehement denial has led to victims reliving the horror of your involvement in their childhoods.

“The jury saw through your web of lies and deceit.”

Detective Constable Nikki Thiim of the Sussex Police complex abuse unit, who investigated the latest allegations, said: “We have huge admiration for the courage of the four latest victims have shown throughout the investigation and this trial.

“Their resilience to help see justice fully done, and the giving of their evidence at the trial has been remarkable.

“Green has always denied these allegations, which forced them to have to relive their experiences in court, which has been extremely difficult and upsetting for them.

“It is clear that for many years, Green has actively involved himself in families, befriending them, encouraging them to let him involve their sons in sport, giving him access to young and often vulnerable boys, who he has systematically abused.”