A former Kingsdown Scout leader is facing a long jail sentence for sex crimes going back 40 years.

Twisted Peter Turner thought he had got away with abusing six victims in what the prosecutor described as “a brazen manner”.

It was revealed that The Mercury’s front page story in March 2014 prompted women to tell police about the attacks.

Now a jury at Canterbury Crown Court has convicted him of 15 offences of rape, indecency with children, indecent assault and possessing child sex images.

Turner, 59, of Kingsdown Road, St Margaret’s at Cliffe, had denied the offences, despite his conviction two years ago for downloading sick images.

“Some of the complainants kept the abuse secret and held it completely within themselves," Prosecutor Simon Taylor

Police found pictures of children as young as four being abused – 15 at the worst level five, 329 at level four, 359 level three, 95 level two and 1,800 at level one on his computer.

He wrote to his lawyers after the first trial: “I wish I was dead ... my life is over. I must have been out of my mind.” He has been remanded in custody until September while reports are prepared which will consider the dangers he poses to youngsters.

Prosecutor Simon Taylor said the pervert – trusted as Akela of the Kingsdown colony of Cubs – got away with his crimes for so long because victims were reluctant to report them.

He told the jury: “People react to distressing events in a huge variety of ways. There is no right way to behave after being raped or sexually abused. Men do abuse young children, it is a sad fact.

“You know that some of the complainants kept the abuse secret and held it completely within themselves. Others disclosed it to a select few as they tried to leave their childhoods behind and build a life.”

Mr Taylor told the jury that one of the victims only revealed the appalling attacks because she was having nightmares.

Turner claimed the women had made up the allegations and had lied after learning he had been convicted for downloading vile images in 2014 – the case appearing on our front page.

That triggered one of the victims to contact police, who then launched a new probe into his secret dealings.

The prosecutor said: “The suggestion that this was a malicious campaign cooked up by six malevolent women because he was an easy target because of his previous conviction can be seen for what it is - nonsense."

Mr Taylor revealed that one of the victims was attacked when she was a teenager, during a bike ride to Deal, when he was buying supplies for the Cub Scouts.

During the trial the pervert told the jury that there was no computer in his home until 2005 which contradicted the evidence by one of the victims.

Mr Taylor said "What a whopping great big lie that was!" He said Turner's brother Andrew revealed that the two had bought computers together in 1999 - and he still had the receipts.

Now Judge Simon Jones has told the ex-Scout leader: "You have been convicted of very serious sexual offences and there is only one possible sentence, that of imprisonment of some considerable length."