Sex monster Duncan Gurney was jailed today for 14 years for raping two schoolgirls and being cruel to a young boy.

Gurney, 49, stood emotionless in the dock at Basildon Crown Court as Judge Philip Clegg described attacks on the children as "sheer wickedness"

The judge went on to tell Gurney, of Station Road, Westcliff, he subjected his victims to such a reign of terror that they were even frightened to speak.

He treated one of the girls, who was aged nine at the time, as a sex slave, said the judge.

The attacks happened between 1981 and 1985 but the victims only plucked up the courage to come forward two years ago.

The two girls and boy, who are now in their twenties, fell foul of Gurney when he lived in a council flat at Hackney, east London.

Gurney was found guilty of rape, indecent assaults and cruelty against the children. The judge said these were just samples of his conduct over many years.

During the three week trial the court heard how Gurney, a fairground worker, took pleasure in sexually humiliating his young victims.

He would terrorise the girls into sex during the day after sending his battered wife Eileen out to work as a prostitute in Kings Cross.

During their evidence the girls frequently broke down in tears as they relived the horror of their early years.

One of the victims, now 25, told the court: "He would treat us like animals and dogs and if he wanted anything he would just snap his fingers."

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