Page 2: Victim lived in hidden world of abuse It was two years ago that Arnold Robin Hartley's lurid private world was uncovered. After two teenage runaways were apprehended by police in 2001, the story of the pensioner who was to become a convicted sex offender began to unfold. As a result of what they told officers, police acted quickly and immediately raided the home of Mr Hartley, who was 71 at the time. To their horror, they discovered a small number of photographs of young girls in provocative poses at his Queen Street property in Redcar. And they also found another 17 rolls of undeveloped film, which revealed a further 588 shots of young girls - some over 16 but some as young as 13 - using props including "kinky" underwear. At the time, Teesside Crown Court was told that when several of the under-age girls were traced, they said Mr Hartley paid them in drink and cash to strip and pose for him. Three accused him of touching them improperly while others said he persuaded them to fondle each other while he took photos. Interviewed by police, the pensioner denied photographing any girls under 16, claiming younger girls who visited did his housework. He even told officers he was impotent, claiming that on one occasion he had taken Viagra tablets, but they had not worked. Defence barrister Tim Roberts said it appeared from the photographs the girls were not distressed by what was happening and they has seen the cash and drink as "a good thing". He said Mr Hartley had lost his good name at the age of 71. He added that he realised what he had done was immoral but it had been for his own gratification alone - he had not made any attempt to distribute the photographs. The pensioner was eventually jailed for 12 months after pleading guilty to eight charges of taking indecent photographs, one of indecency with a child and three of indecent assault. Passing sentence, Judge Peter Armstrong told Mr Hartley prison was the only possible sentence as he placed him on the sex offenders' register for ten years. But he said, because of the contents of a medical report before the court, he would keep the term as short as possible. Neighbours today revealed how they only found out about his sordid life when they read accounts of the court case in the Gazette. Neighbour Wendy Moore, 37, who has lived in the street for 14 years, said she first knew something was wrong when police raided the home. She told how the pensioner moved to a temporary address in Church Street, Redcar after leaving prison. But when he moved home again, there was a string of attacks. "He was attracting all kinds of people to the street," said Mrs Moore. He shouldn't have been allowed to live like that. "He was a human being after all. At least the house will be secure now." The convicted sex offender is one of hundreds of paedophiles known to be living on Teesside. And families of other sex offenders have also suffered at the hands of revenge seekers. Last year, the wife of a jailed paedophile had her house attacked by yobs who smashed her windows in a late-night vandalism spree. Police stepped up watches on her home in Gleneagles Road, Middlesbrough, following the attacks during the night. William Hornigold, 51, of Gleneagles Road, was jailed for ten years at Teesside Crown Court after admitting two charges of indecent assault against a young girl. At the time, the woman, who asked not to be named, said: "Every window in my house has been put in. "There's glass everywhere. I'm terrified. I have pets in the house and I'm terrified for them as well. I daren't even go out in case they torch the house." And she stressed she knew nothing of her husband's offences until they came to light through the courts. "I'm an innocent victim in this as well," she said. "I want everybody to know that and to leave me alone." In January this year, a former prisoner who assaulted a paedophile was sent back to jail. Teesside Crown Court was told that while Christopher Rawlings was in prison he heard how a man had indecently assaulted a number of children. After his release, Rawlings saw the man in Middlesbrough and warned him the next time he saw him he would stab him, prosecutor Shaun Dodds told the court at the time. Weeks later, while walking down Linthorpe Road, the man was pushed from behind and kicked several times. In a police interview, Rawlings, of Outhwaite Street, Middlesbrough, admitted there was animosity between the men - but did not admit the attack. | 
