Identical twins jailed for abusing boy

Identical twins who sexually abused a boy more than 20 years ago were today given jail terms when they appeared next to each other in a dock, court officials said.

John and Martyn Conway, 50 and from Cambridge, were imprisoned following a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court.

The Conways, both Mormons, had abused the child, who is now an adult and cannot be identified for legal reasons, in the 1980s, a judge heard.

John Conway had been convicted of indecent assault at a trial earlier this year. He had entered not guilty pleas and argued that he was a victim of mistaken identity. Martyn Conway had admitted sexually abusing the child.

Judge Anthony Bate gave John Conway a six-year term and Martyn Conway a three-year term, said a court spokeswoman.

Jurors had heard that the victim, now in his 30s, had complained of being abused over a seven-year period.

In 2008 Martyn Conway was given a seven-year jail term after being convicted of raping and molesting another boy in the 1980s. He was found guilty of sex assaults following a trial in Cambridge and had denied any offence.

Judge Bate said the three-year term imposed today would be added to the seven-year sentence given to Martyn Conway in 2008, said the court spokeswoman.