He picked them up in Piccadilly Gardens after they skipped school - and left them scarred for life

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Truanting from school can be short-lived mischief. It can also damage a child's education irreparably. But in the case of two young boys playing hooky in Manchester city centre - it left them scarred for life.

The pair were both targeted by a predatory paedophile who plied them with food, beer, cigarettes and CDs, a jury at Manchester Crown Court heard last year.

He picked up both of them separately, aged 14 and 15 at the time, in Piccadilly Gardens. Within hours, he took them to his flat in the Northern Quarter where they were made to perform sexual acts in return for his "generosity". READ MORE: One year since the blitz on crime began, 'Counterfeit Street' feels like a different place READ MORE: A night of shocking tragedy on the roads as man killed, another fights for life and pair left seriously hurt The abuse continued for many months between 1996-98.

Tortured by the memory of what they had endured, both boys ended up leaving Greater Manchester in a bid to escape it. Eventually, the two boys made a formal complaint to police in March 2019.