Kenya charity boss Simon Harris sexually abused boys

A Latin teacher running a gap-year charity in Kenya used it to sexually abuse young Kenyan boys.

Simon Harris, 55, offered youngsters in the Rift Valley province of the African country food and money.

Vulnerable victims also went to his house in the town of Gilgil in the hope of schooling. However Harris molested the boys at his property, which was known locally as the "Green House."

Some of the boys gave evidence to Birmingham Crown Court via video link from thousands of miles away, helping convict the former public school teacher.

Prosecuting counsel, Kevin Hegarty QC, said the case was an example of the "long arm of the law."

Harris carried out the abuse between 2001 and 2013 when he headed the charity VAE, which found teaching posts for gap-year travellers.

He targeted children who lived a "desperate" existence with "nobody to look after them," reported local media.

Harris was convicted of seven counts of indecent assault and sexual assault on Kenyan boys. He was also convicted over a stash of indecent photos of children.

A jury cleared him of seven other charges, including rape.

Prior to the trial, Harris admitted molesting three boys at Shebbear College in Devon, while he was a teacher working there during the 1980s.