A Nottinghamshire sexual predator who raped and sexually assaulted children has been jailed.
Matthew Ellis abused the children at separate addresses in Nottinghamshire over nine years.
On each occasion he threatened his victims in order to maintain their silence, or claimed he was playing a secret game.
Ellis, aged 35, was exposed in 2019 when one of his victims revealed what had been happening to her.
After a lengthy investigation he was charged with multiple sexual offences, all of which he denied.
However, after two sperate trials he was convicted by a juries at Nottingham Crown Court of a string of offences against boys and girls under the age of 13.
The convictions were for two counts of rape, three sexual assaults, and three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Appearing at Derby Crown Court on Friday he was jailed for 15 years with a further eight years on licence.
Ellis, of Mansfield, was also made the subject of a life-long sexual harm prevention order that will tightly control his activities when he is released.
DC Cherie Sisson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Ellis is a devious and manipulative and calculating sexual predator who committed truly appalling offences against vulnerable children who were too young to even understand what was happening to them.
“They and their families have been through an extremely difficult and upsetting ordeal and I hope today’s sentence will provide them with some degree of comfort.
“I am pleased Ellis is now behind bars where he belongs and relieved that he is now no longer a danger to children.
“I hope this case also serves as a reminder to other victims of sexual assaults which may have happened some time ago.
“If you tell us about what happened we will listen to you, we will investigate and we will do everything we can to get justice for you.”
