Benefit Fraud Couple Jailed For £188,000 Swindle

Greedy: William Kapuya & Nicole Mwamba

A benefit fraud asylum couple, who masterminded a seven-year £188,000 swindle which involved multiple aliases and a secret property portfolio financed by taxpayers, were both jailed yesterday.

Congo-born Mother-of-two Nicole Mwamba, 47, of Campbell Road, Caterham, who received two-and-half years, lied on mortgage applications that she was a well-paid professional then repaid the loans with illegally-claimed housing benefit, Croydon Crown Court heard.

She is responsible for bogus claims totalling £142,000 and her fellow-Congolese second husband William Kapuya, 47, of Campbell Road, who received fourteen months, another £46,000.

Mwamba was granted permanent leave to remain in the UK after claiming her first husband was persecuted for his political beliefs and had all his property and savings confiscated in their native country.

However, after he died his assets were all transferred to her in the UK without any problems.

Investigators discovered that as recently as 2012 she had also been receiving €736 per month in benefits from the French welfare system and was using the identity of a Congolese friend who obtained Belgian residency in her UK scam.

Needy: Kapuya & Mwamba

Prosecutor Miss Francesca Levett told the court Mwamba bought a house in Beulah Grove, Selhurst for £165,000 in November, 2004 in a different name to her housing benefit claim, which began in 1998.

She told lenders whe was earning £42,000 with a housing organisation, despite never working, and slapped down an £18,000 cash deposit even though insisting she had no savings or assets in her benefit claim.

“This case involves a number of identities and addresses and throughout her claims Mwamba said she had no savings or capital,” explained Miss Levett.

After buying the Beulah Grove property Mwamba continued claiming benefits in her different married name.

“She was keen to keep these two identities appart. This was a calculated and contrived decision by Mwamba to only give the Department and Work and Pensions (DWP) the information she wanted them to know.”

Meanwhile Kapuya was claiming housing benefit in Ferndale Road, Brixton and then in Partridge Knoll, Purley while keeping his marriage secret and claimed an extra severe disability premium while insisting he did not have a partner.

He continues to receive thousands of pounds of free dialysis treatment on the NHS.

When buying the second property Mwamba told lenders she was a £57,000 a year finance director.

“As a benefit claimant she was poor and needy, but as a mortgage applicant she was successful and employed,” said Miss Levett.

As long ago as December 14, 2005 Mwamba was called in by Croydon council for a compliance interview, but the frauds continued regardless.

Kapuya was still receiving housing benefit for the Ferndale Road address while living in Campbell Road when he was arrested on October 11, 2011.

Mwamba claimed £1,000 housing benefit from Tandridge District Council for the same three-bedroom house, with the money paid into a secret bank account she had failed to declare.

“It was to generate income for Mwamba to pay her mortgage. Mwamba has never worked and she needed to pay her mortgage somehow.”

She also had an income support claim under one of her aliases paid into the bank account of her fifteen year-old daughter.

Mwamba was convicted of two counts of failing to notify a change of circumstances to the London Borough of Croydon on or about November 3, 2004, in relation to a housing benefit and council tax benefit claim, namely that she had purchased 52a Beulah Grove.

She was similarly convicted of making false representations in relation to the two benefit claims regarding the property on or about December 15, 2004 and May 23, 2006.

She was also found guilty of failing to notify a change in circumstances on or about November 23, 2007, namely that she had purchased 66 Campbell Road and making a false representation in relation to the Beulah Grove and Campbell Road addresses, namely failing to declare she lived with her partner.

Mwamba was also convicted of three counts of fraud against Tandridge District Council between December 5, 2007 and February 9, 2011; two counts of making false representation to the DWP regarding property ownership and failing to notify a change of circumstances to the DWP.

Kapuya was convicted of four counts of fraud against Croydon council in that he failed to disclose he was living with Mwamba and that he needed housing and making a false representation to the council in relation to a housing benefit and council tax benefit claim regarding the Purley Knoll home.

He was also found guilty of making a false representation to the DWP regarding a severe disability premium claim, which would have inceased his existing income support payments.

Prolific Sperm-Donor Prof Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting One Recipient

A UCL professor, who has fathered 58 children via his "one stop shop" insemination service, is facing imprisonment after molesting a wannabe single mum who used his services.

Professor Gennadij Raivich, 51, a perinatal neuroscientist at University College London - who also has three children of his own - coined the phrase 'Artificial Insemination Plus', which promised sexual 'extras' to donors - namely oral sex.

The victim, 31, travelled from her Cambridgeshire village to his London home and had to repeatedly perform oral sex on him to obtain the samples she craved, Blackfriars Crown Court heard during the two-week trial.

Raivich, of Rashleigh House, Thanet Street, St. Pancras was convicted of two counts of sexually assaulting the woman, who was groped between the legs and had her breasts touched, and he was released on bail until September 30 for a pre-sentence report.

This conviction can be reported for the first time after a Contempt of Court Act order was lifted after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced they would not be pursuing a retrial in relation to eight more counts the jury could not agree on.

"The CPS made the decision not to proceed with a retrial on any charges the jury couldn't agree on," said William Clegg QC, defending.

The two other complainants, both 26 year-old lesbians, also told the court the defendant abused them, but the jury were unable to reach verdicts in relation to one count against the first and seven counts against the second.

Raivich carried a "donation kit" containing a dvd player, which he watched pornography on, rubber gloves and a speculum and pipette and was happy to carry-out home visits.

Fifteen satisfied female 'customers' from all over the country spoke in his defence, including a police officer, maths teacher and lecturer, some of whom had two and in one case three of his children via Artificial Insemination (AI).

Prosecutor Mr. Tom Wilkins told the jury: "You have to ask yourselves what kind of woman agrees to meet a complete stranger, they do not even know his real name, for AI.

"Someone who is desperate and is prepared to put up with the potential embarrassment and humiliation and who have kept the details from their friends and families.

"A perfect victim for sexual assault, someone unlikely to complain.

"Compare the women to this defendant, someone who has traded on the fact he is a doctor and paraded his scientific knowledge, impressing them with his apparent expertise.

"What kind of man embarks on a breeding programme to have as many children as possible?

"You will have to ask yourselves if he knows as much as he claims.

"You may feel there is a high degree of narcism in what he has done and is sexually motivated in some of these transactions.

"He provided a one stop shop for women who wanted semen. All were desperate to have a baby."

Raivich's service was informal and did not conform to the guidelines of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and he often used the pseudonym 'Frank Qualman'.

Raivich told the victim that her chances of becoming pregnant were increased if she orgasmed during the insemination process.

The prosecution accept Raivich is a qualified doctor in Germany, but has always been an academic scientist and has never practiced medicine and is not registered with the General Medical Council.

"On the websites he advertises his services as a sperm diner and represents himself as a: 'Medical doctor based in Central London' providing a service called Intra-Cervical Insemination or ICI."

In a video-recorded police interview played to the jury the woman said: "He kept asking for AI Plus because it would make things quicker.

"He laid sofa cushions on the floor and was taking his trousers off and said he wanted AI Plus because it would be quick and he did not have time to provide the sample himself.

"With my baby brain I agreed to AI Plus and he took his underwear off and lay on the floor and I performed AI Plus and the donation was ready in thirty seconds.

"While I was doing AI Plus he asked me to take my clothes off so he could touch me.

"I said I did not mind doing AI Plus, but did not want to do anything else, but he put his hand on my bottom over my jeans then kept trying to put his hands down my waistband and up my top." 

Raivich also groped her between her legs during the sessions. "He told her an orgasm would help her conceive," added Mr. Wilkins.

"She told him three or four times not to touch her there, but he went ahead regardless and now he says he can't recall stimulating her in this way.

"He was not the altruistic donor, but someone who is sexually-motivated. 

"She was desperate for a baby and returned a week later for a donation in return for performing oral sex on him and felt she had to put up with it, she had been trying for a baby for a year."

The first lesbian complainant saw Raivich on February 27, 2012 when "wholly gratuitously and without warning" he inserted two to three of this fingers into her vagina for three to five seconds, the jury were told.

The third victim was visited twice by Raivich at the home she shared with her lesbian partner in Great Yarmouth and she told the court things started badly when she walked into the living-room during the defendant's 'preparation'.

"When I walked in his trousers were undone, which made me feel uncomfortable and I turned up the tv for him. His button and zip were undone and I sort of ran out of the room quite fast back upstairs.

"I was waiting for him  to turn around before I got undressed. He told me not to be shy, that I had nothing to worry about and stood there with a scary smile on his face, glaring at me.

He then lifted up my top and started to grope my boobs. I just froze, he hadn't done it the previous time so I knew it was not right.

"He lifted my t-shirt up and moved my bra away from my breasts. He was just groping my boobs, squeezing them and smiling.

"He was looking at me, just smiling, it was like something out of a horror movie the way he was looking at me.

"I pushed my top down and he continued to smile at me and started to push his fingers inside me, which again I knew was wrong. He hadn't previously done this.

"He then pushed down on my clitoris, he just smiled at me. I just wanted him to get out of the bedroom, I wanted it to be over, my whole body just froze."

Wife Of Disgraced Banker Caught Drink-Driving Hours After He Was Jailed

The drunken wife of a disgraced ex-Coutts banker was caught driving her husband's car hours after watching him receive three years imprisonment at the Old Bailey for laundering the proceeds of his son's £10m fraud.

Housewife Linda Noad, 58, of Uplands, Stonehouse Road, Halstead, Sevenoaks, sobbed in the dock of Bromley Magistrates Court last friday as she recalled simply getting into the vehicle to feel close to her incarcerated husband.

She pleaded guilty to driving his blue Honda Accord in Broke Farm Road, Orpington in the early hours of July 15 with 73 microgrammes of alcohol in her breath - the legal limit is 35.

Mrs Noad had spent the day before her arrest at the Central Criminal Court, where Roger Noad, 60, who worked at the prestigious bank for thirty years, was imprisoned for allowing "eye-watering" sums of cash to be channeled through his accounts.

Their son Matthew, 27, currently serving four years and eight months, had orchestrated a land investment swindle, which targeted pensioners in a cold-calling scam, who then invested their savings with the promise of big returns.

He made around £1.2m and £655,000 was funnelled through his father's bank accounts, all while still living with his parents.

Mrs Noad herself was charged with money laundering, but the jury failed to reach a verdict in relation to her.

"We'd been on trial, me and my husband, at the Old Bailey and he got three years," she told the court. "Me and my son left the Old Bailey at 5.30pm and we were drinking.

"I don't normally drink and I went to bed and I felt really bad because I had never been apart from my husband for thirty-five years.

"I got up and sat in his car and then started driving down the road and thought to myself: 'What are you doing?'

"I decided to turn around and the police were there."

She was fined £100, with £85 costs, ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge and was disqualified from driving for twenty months.

"I haven't got any income. My husband has gone away and he's got no earnings," Noad told the court.

Teen Arrested For Playing With Himself In Packed Courtroom

Police arrested a teenager after two lawyers halted court proceedings to tell a judge a waiting defendant was masturbating a few feet from them.

Parvinder Aullakh, 19, of Weald Way, Hayes, Middlesex was seated in the well of the packed courtroom as another case progressed when he was pointed out.

"There is an issue. He's got his bits out," solicitor Wahida Aktar told District Judge Kenneth Grant at Hammersmith Magistrates Court, pointing to her left and leaning away in repulsion.

Another lawyer, sitting next to her, told the judge: "He had his erect penis out and was masturbating."

Aullakh was appearing on a common assault charge, but Mr. Grant ordered him to leave and a plain-clothed police officer, who was sitting behind the defendant and unaware of what he was doing, detained him outside.

Uniformed officers were called and Aullakh was taken away in custody.

Council Tax Case Against Lord Brockett Dropped

Court action against Lord Charles Brockett for unpaid council tax on his Fulham flat was withdrawn by his local authority yesterday during a short hearing at Hammersmith Magistrates Court.

The peer, 62, of The Piper Building, Peterborough Road, Fulham, (pictured) had faced a complaint for a council tax liability order for non-payment of council tax and costs of £1,367.52 brought by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

The demand related to his address at the landmark west London building, where a penthouse flat is currently on the market with an asking price of £2.65m.

His full name is Charles Ronald George Nall-Cain, Third Baron Brocket.

Eton-educated Lord Brockett was sentenced to five years imprisonment in 1996 for £4.3m insurance fraud involving four of his vintage cars.

He served as a Lieutenant in the 14th/20th King's Hussars and the former playboy pal of Prince Charles once owned 42 Ferraris amongst his classic car collection.

In 2004 he appeared in 'I'm A Celebrity…….Get Me Out Of Here!' and went on to present several other television programmes.

He inherited eighteenth century Brocket Hall, near Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, which he converted into a hotel and conference venue and leases to a German consortium - Brocket Hall International

The father-of-four was last month stopped by police taking possession of £2m worth of art and antiques, which he claimed belonged to the trustees of the estate.

Eight police cars chased three removal vans along the A1M.

Ex-Fiance Of Billionaire's Daughter Tamara Ecclestone Denies Stealing £28,000 Of Her Jewellery

The former fiancé of model and socialite Tamara Ecclestone appeared in court for the first time today charged with stealing £28,000 worth of jewellery from his ex.

Amre Al-Khyami, 40, of Caroline House, Bayswater Road, Bayswater, the son of a wealthy Syrian businessman, arrived at Hammersmith Magistrates Court in a chauffeur-driven silver Rolls Royce.

He pleaded not guilty that between January 1, 2010 and July 31, 2012 at Old Church Street, Chelsea he stole two necklaces belonging to Tamara Ecclestone, 30, and he was bailed unconditionally to appear at Isleworth Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on August 5.

Prosecutor Mr. Vijay Khuttan told the court: "He's stolen from his ex-partner, but he says he was handed these items after the break-up. He says he had permission."

The prosecutor described the offence as a "breach of trust" and said the magistrates court had insufficient powers to order full compensation in the event of a conviction.

Tamara is the daughter of billionaire Formula One ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone, 83, and has starred in her own reality TV series 'Billion Dollar Girl.'

Tamara and her sister Petra, 25, are familiar faces on the party circuit and she knew her boyfriend of two-and-a-half years as 'Omar Khyami' after meeting him at Mayfair celebrity haunt restaurant 'Cipriani'

She once described him as her "soulmate" and had name tattooed on her hip - since replaced by pink ribbon

He attended private school Emmanuel College, Clapham.

The couple split two years ago after a sex-tape revealed Al-Khyami cheating on her while wearing two £30,000 Cartier love bangles she'd bought him. 

Tamara, who now lives in a 55-room £45m Kensington mansion, said of her then-boyfriend in 2012: "I know Omar's the right person because I have never been so happy. I trust him completely. Deep down you know when someone loves you for who you are and not what you have.

"I think I'm a good judge of character. Omar and I definitely want to get married. I think in the next few years hopefully we will tie the knot."

in June, last year she married Jay Rutland and gave birth on March 17, this year to Sophia Ecclestone-Rutland.

Teen Caged For Terrifying Knife-Point Mugging

A knife-wielding teenager mugger, who held a blade to his victim's throat while forcing the man to withdraw cash from an ATM, has been locked-up for three years.

Deureece Reid, 18, of Hoe Lane, Enfield demanded £250 cash – the maximum allowed – from his 33 year-old victim.

He was convicted of robbery in Queen Anne's Place, Bush Hill Park, Enfield on December 12, last year after a two-day trial at Wood Green Crown Court.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Rob Delaney, from Enfield’s Proactive Crime Unit, said: “This was a terrifying attack, causing the victim to fear for his life.

“This sentence will take this attacker off of our streets for a number of years.”

"Every Parent's Nightmare" Caged For Grooming And Trying To Rape 14 Year-Old Girl

A shopkeeper, who 'groomed' a 14 year-old customer for sex and gave her a glass of orange juice, after which she passed out, has been jailed for trying to rape the youngster.

Gerard Morgan, 46, of Sandhurst Road, Catford sold baseball caps at a local store and after befriending the “vulnerable” teen gave her gifts, including an iPad Mini.

He was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of attempted rape; grooming a child and sexual assault and received a total of five years imprisonment.

Morgan befriended the girl in the autumn of 2012 after she came into the shop to look at some of the caps.

Following further encounters at the shop, Morgan then began to offer her lifts in his car.



It was during these lifts that Morgan began to sexually abuse his victim.


In January last year Morgan took the victim to an address in Blackheath where he offered her a drink of orange juice.

After taking the drink, the victim passed out and only awoke hours later with her clothes dishevelled.

She told someone about the incident and police were alerted.



Morgan was arrested on February 25 and denied the allegations.

However, analysis of his phones showed that he had made contact with the victim on hundreds of occasions in the short time they had known each other.



Detective Constable Ken Tran of the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command (SOECA) led the investigation. 



He said: "Gerard Morgan is a dangerous offender who exploited a very vulnerable child for his own sexual needs.

“The victim has shown courage in reporting Morgan, who has now been convicted and will go to prison for a long time, safeguarding other children.

On release he will be monitored as a registered sex offender."



Detective Chief Inspector Pete Thomas, also of SOECA, said: "Gerard Morgan is every parent's nightmare, a sex offender who targets children and tries to beguile them with presents and compliments. 



"I believe there will be other victims and I urge them to tell us about what has happened.

“I would also encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual exploitation or grooming, or someone who may have information about offenders targeting children, to call us, so we can protect other children."



Anyone with information about Gerard Morgan is asked to contact SOECA via 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. 

Bicycle-Riding Mugger Gets Life For Murdering Pregnant Prostitute

A knife-wielding midnight mugger, who murdered a pregnant prostitute he stabbed twice in the chest as he cycled around east London looking for victims, has been caged for life.

Farooq Shah, 21, of Station Road, Forest Gate had robbed a vulnerable victim less than an hour earlier then targeted 24 year-old Romanian Mariana Popa – the mother of a six year-old child who had only been in the UK a few weeks.

He must serve twenty-nine years before he can be considered for parole and received a six-year concurrent term for the first mugging.

He was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of murdering Mariana in Ilford Lane, Redbridge, shortly before midnight on October 28, last year.

He was also found guilty of a knife-point mugging in nearby Upton Park the same night, when he robbed a partially-sighted man in his fifties.

Detective Inspector Darren Richards said: "This was a cold-blooded, senseless murder by a man who went out that night, armed with a knife, intent on using it to commit serious injury to someone.



"He had already threatened and robbed a vulnerable man with a knife earlier that night, and he was hanging around the Ilford Lane area, looking for another victim.

“He killed Mariana because she was there, because he thought he could get away with it.

“In doing so, he has deprived a young daughter of her mother. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of Mariana."



The murder investigation was launched by officers from the Homicide and Major Crime Command after police were called by the London Ambulance Service at approx 00:15am on Tuesday, October 29, to reports of a woman injured in Ilford Lane, near the junction with Loxford Lane.



Officers attended and she was treated for a stab injury and she was taken to an east London hospital where she died at 01:53am.

The post-mortem examination ascertained that she died from shock and haemorrhage and stab wounds to the chest.



Mariana, who has a six year-old daughter, had been spoken to by police three times that night and she had been issued with a caution for soliciting.



CCTV footage proved critical in this case, and approximately 400 hours was reviewed over the course of the investigation.

Police recovered the footage from a number of cameras along the road, one of which had actually caught the murder taking place.

It shows Mariana walking along with a man on a bicycle, when he is seen to take a knife from his back pocket and stab her twice in the chest.

He then makes off towards Loxford Lane on his bike, while Mariana manages to make her way to a nearby shop where she collapsed.



Through the footage, detectives were able to trace the attacker to an area around St. Francis Way.

During door-to-door enquiries on November 6, officers discovered a bicycle matching the description of that seen in the CCTV footage.

Shah was inside the flat and, finding he fitted the description of the murderer, he was immediately arrested. 



At the address, police found a bag belonging to Shah that matched one worn by the murderer in the footage; they also recovered a Samsung Galaxy phone which Shah had given to his friend, who was present at the flat. 



Enquiries revealed that the phone had been taken during a knife-point robbery in Harold Road, Upton Park, at approx 11.00pm on the night of October 28.

CCTV footage had already shown that the murderer had been travelling from that direction to Ilford Lane.

That victim was partially sighted, but crucially was able to describe his assailant's distinctive thick beard.


Sex Offender Who Inflicted "Immense Pain" Caged

A sex offender – who targeted three girls when he was a young teen himself – is starting a two-and-a-half year sentence after the victims broke two decades of silence.

Damien Walters, 32, of St. Asaph Road, Brockley sexually abused the children between 1995 and 200.

One of the victims was only six or seven years-old when the sex attacks began and Walters was thirteen years-old.

He was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of four counts of indecent assault.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command (SOECA) were contacted by the trio, who stated Walters had assaulted them in the Deptford area of south-east London.

Detective Constable Gary Castle of the Met's SOECA said: "I commend the victims for coming forward.

“All three victims were children at the time and have found it challenging to come forward, to relive the events of their attack from many years ago.

“Walters relied on the fact that these victims were young when he assaulted them and that they would not be believed. He was clearly mistaken."



Detective Inspector Faye Churchyard said: "The offences perpetrated on the victims affected their lives considerably.

“Walters caused immense pain and the victims have now seen justice.

“This case shows that no matter how long ago the abuse took place, victims can obtain justice.

“I urge any other victims of sexual abuse to come forward and tell the police what has happened, we can support you and help you through this process."

Violent Assault: Suspect Identified

Police have released this photo of a suspect they are hunting for a violent assault.

Officers from Barking and Dagenham Police in east London are keen to know the whereabouts of 51 year-old Adam Nichols.

He is wanted in connection with an incident that took place at Thatches Grove, The Marks Gate Estate, Dagenham on Wednesday January 22.



He is described as white, 6ft 2ins tall and speaks with a London accent. 



It is believed he may be in the Great Yarmouth area of Norfolk.



Anyone who has information concerning the whereabouts of this man is urged to contact Detective Constable Malcolm Young of Barking and Dagenham CID.

The phone number is 020 3276 1109 or Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference number 5101184/14.


Bullet Lodged In Gun Victim's Head: Police Continue Hunt

Police continue to hunt a mystery would-be killer - whose victim has been left with a bullet lodged in his head after a south London shooting as he walked home from work last year.

A reward of up to £20,000 has been offered for information that will identify who shot the 28 year-old Chinese national just after midnight on a Tulse Hill council estate.

The victim was shot at close range outside Fairview House, Roupel Estate on September 1 by a lone gunman, clad head to foot in black with his face obscured by a zipped hoodded top.

After being shot in the back of the head the victim managed to make his way home where the alarm was raised and he was rushed to Kings College Hospital.

He was treated and discharged three days later and the bullet remains in his head.

Despite numerous inquiries officers have been unable to identify the suspect for the attempted murder which is believed to have been a completely unprovoked attack.

Nothing was stolen from the victim so officers do not believe robbery to be a motive.


The £20,000 reward is offered for information which would lead to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person responsible.



The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 5’ 7” tall, in his late teens or early twenties, wearing a black hooded top - zipped up to the nose - and black jeans.



Detective Chief Inspector Jason Prins of Trident Gang Crime Command, said: "This was a shocking incident whereby a young man walking home from work in the early hours of the morning was shot at close range.

“Understandably he and his family are very distressed by this apparently motiveless and senseless attack.

“The gun used in the attack was some form of self-loading pistol which was shot at very close range. 



"I would like to reassure any potential witnesses who may be worried about making contact with police that Trident has extensive expertise in protecting witnesses and there are a range of measures that can be taken to protect you."



Members of the public with any information can contact the Trident South investigation team on 020 8247 4877 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

NOT GUILTY: Anglican Priest Cleared Of Child Abuse Charges

An anglican priest at a landmark South Kensington church has finally been cleared after two trials of sexually abusing two young alter boy brothers in the vicarage during weekend sleepovers.

Father Kenneth Hewitt, 84, was accused of bathing the boys - who visited separately - and getting into bed with them and molesting them at St. Augustine's Church, Queen's Gate.

He was also said to have plied one of the youngsters with sherry and port during the 'grooming' process the respective juries were told at Isleworth Crown Court.

The brothers attended St. James Independent Boys School across the road from the church and the elder said he was abused between the ages of nine and ten years-old and the younger sibling said he was aged seven to fourteen years-old.

They are now aged 42 and 38 respectively and the youngest claimed he was molested thirty to forty times by Father Hewitt, who took him to museums, restaurants and shops and treated him to alcohol and ice cream at the vicarage, where he also showed him Victorian books featuring naked children.

Prosecutor Mr. Subhankar Banerjee told the first trial pupils were encouraged to become alter boys at the church -  a favourite of late Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman - and the defendant himself was particularly popular.

"He was someone people could trust and respect and was considered nicer than a lot of the teachers."

Father Hewitt was friendly with the boys' mother, who allowed her sons to sleepover at the vicarage, believing the defendant to be a good "mentor" for her sons.

The older boy only stayed twice, once after a church service and once after school.

"He says he had to have a bath and Father Hewitt walked in and then placed the boy's pyjamas on his bed and said that's where he would be sleeping"

Father Hewitt allegedly described the youngster as his "special boy" and made "grunting noises" as he molested him.

Three weeks later the scenario was repeated with the defendant washing the boy between his legs and inserting his finger into the complainant's bottom, the jury were told.

The defendant "lingered" around the boys's bottom when towelling him off, explained Mr. Banerjee, and again molested him in the bed.

On another occasion the boy was changing into alter clothing for a church service when Father Hewitt approached, said the prosecutor.

"He said he would smooth out his clothes and rubbed his penis over the gown and said: 'There you are. You look special'."

The younger brother stayed overnight every two to three weeks for several years and says Father Hewitt bathed him, lingering between his legs.

The priest also asked the boy to wash him and took him to bed, where he was abused, the jury were told.

"These activities took place thirty to forty times," said Mr. Banerjee. "The same thing happened four or five times when the defendant took him to a bungalow in Norfolk."

The defendant was questioned by police in April, last year. "He denied anything of a sexual nature ever happened."

Father Hewitt, of Bromley College, London Road, Bromley was found not guilty to five counts of indecently assaulting the older brother between June 15, 1980 and June 16, 1982.

He was also cleared of two counts of repeatedly indecently assaulting the younger brother between May 13, 1982 and May 14, 1989, plus one count of indecency with a child in relation to the same complainant.