THE mother of a boy who was sexually assaulted by a Breadstone farmer and business owner has spoken of the ‘horrific’ impact of his crimes as he was jailed for 14 months.

Simon Pain, 47, of Billow Farm, Breadstone, plied the 15-year-old with gifts before forcing himself on him while giving him a lift home, Gloucester Crown Court heard.

Days later, Pain took the boy to London where he booked them
into a hotel, saying the boy was his son, and then assaulting him in their room, prosecutor Janine Wood said.

She added that on both occasions, he performed sex acts on the boy.

Pain, who has been deputy chairman of the Gloucestershire branch of the National Farmers’ Union, admitted sexually assaulting the boy on November 13 last year and again between November 18 and 21.

On Friday, after hearing how badly affected the boy and his family have been by the offences, Judge Jamie Tabor QC jailed Pain for 14 months, ordered him to sign the sex offender register for 10 years and also ordered him to pay £500 costs.

Mrs Wood said Pain, who runs a livery yard at his farm, got to know the boy because of his interest in horses.

The boy had been open with his mother and told her when he was 13 that he was homosexual, she said.

“The defendant confided in the boy that he thought he himself was gay and he preferred younger people,” she told the court.

“He began buying the boy gifts – clothing, a mobile phone, riding equipment. The boy wondered why the defendant was spending so much on him.

“On November 13 he gave the boy a lift home. He pulled over in a layby, they got into the rear of the vehicle and Pain committed a sex act.

“The boy told him he just wanted to go home.

“A few days later the defendant took the boy to London under a pretext.

“He had booked a room at the Hilton hotel in Hyde Park and was pretending to the staff there that the boy was his son.

“He took the boy around London sightseeing – the London Dungeon, the London Eye and bought him some clothes.

“Back in the hotel room he pushed the boy onto the bed and pinned him down and got on top of him.”

Mrs Wood said that, when they got back in Gloucestershire, Pain spoke to the boy’s mother and told her he loved her son. He said when the boy was 16 in a few months time they would have a relationship but police were called and on December 4, Pain denied any sexual activity with the boy.

Interviewed again on February 23, he admitted the offences but said the boy consented.

In a victim impact statement the boy said: “This has been truly the hardest time of my life. There have been times when I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. I felt like my life had been taken out of my hands.”

“I didn’t know who to turn to or to trust. “

He said he was fearful Pain would hurt his horse to get back at him.

“I have trouble sleeping. I have nightmares that he is outside my house. Some days I can’t get out of bed because I feel so down.

“I feel Simon has stolen my life that was but I won’t let it defeat me.”
The boy’s mother told the court: “Our world has been turned upside down. I feel I’ve let my son down – I blame myself.

“I had a feeling something was wrong but I couldn’t do anything without any proof.

“My son has changed – he is no longer the happy, funny, boy he was.  He now wants to get as far away from this man as possible.

“I now constantly question the motives of anyone who gets close to my children. I am so relieved he has pleaded guilty – he has caused devastation.”

Robert Duvall, defending, said Pain suffers from “a number of inner demons” and presents “a difficult and complex picture”.

“He has had to tell his nine-year-old daughter today that daddy may not be coming home tonight,” Mr Duvall said. “That was extremely difficult for him and even  more difficult for his daughter.”

Pain had an equestrian business running indoor arenas, a cross country course and other facilities, he said.

He also has a storage unit full of classic cars and runs his farm with his wife and two employees, one in charge of the livery yard and the other a tractor driver.

“He has transformed his farm into a haven for wildflowers,” said Mr Duval. “Without him there, his business will be in very serious difficulties,” Mr Duvall said.

“He works tirelessly for the local community. He was deputy chairman of the Gloucestershire NFU and was probably to be chairman – but one suspects that is now an impossible place for him.

“He has been his local NFU branch chairman and sat on numerous committees.

“He has spent a considerable amount of time helping young farmers and he helps a local college to develop its new agricultural degree course.

“He spends much of his spare time raising money for various charities.
Jailing Pain, the judge said he accepted he had been in a “loveless marriage” at the time of the offences but he knew it had been “entirely wrong” to have a sexual relationship with an under-age boy.

Speaking after Pain’s sentencing, his mother said that the offences had had an “horrific” impact on the family.

However, she thanked the support of police in dealing with the issue and said that her son was now getting professional support.