A victim of a former Great Ormond Street Hospital porter who sexually abused boys over decades has spoken of his “guilt, shame and despair”.

Paul Farrell, 55, pleaded guilty to 76 offences against eight victims between 1985 and 2020.

A court heard that the true number of offences was “not less than 560” but probably “in the thousands”.

Farrell, from Camden in north London, will be sentenced following a two-day hearing and faces a lengthy jail term.

He befriended the parents of his victims and lodged with them or acted as a babysitter at addresses across the capital in order to abuse their children.

Prosecutor Paul Douglass told Wood Green Crown Court that Farrell’s abuse included forcing one of the victims, who at the time was aged between seven and nine, to perform sex acts over a two-year period.

During this same period, Farrell also abused the victim’s younger brother, with neither sibling knowing what was happening to the other at the time.

The offences, carried out between 1985 and 2020, include attempted rape, sexual assault of a child under 13 and making indecent photographs of children.

A further 20 charges have been left to lie on the file.

If you or a loved one were subject to abuse at the hands of Farrell, please do not hesitate to contact us in confidence.