A DJ friend of Jimmy Savile has been found guilty of using his celebrity status to groom and then rape underage girls. Over more than 30 years, Ray Teret, 73, used nightclubs and youth discos across Manchester to meet impressionable underage girls. He would then take them back to his flat and rape them.

Teret, of Altrincham, was charged with 18 counts of rape, one count of buggery, 11 counts of indecent assault and three counts of indecency with a child. After more than 60 hours of deliberations by a jury at Minshull Street crown court, in Manchester, he was convicted of seven rapes and 11 indecent assaults but cleared of the other charges.

Two other men were on trial with Teret. William Harper, 65, of Stretford was cleared of one count of attempted rape, and Alan Ledger, 62, of Altrincham, was found not guilty of a serious sex assault, not guilty of two indecent assaults and not guilty of one count of indecency with a child.

Teret, who will be sentenced on Thursday, worked as a DJ throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, including for the pirate station Radio Caroline and for Piccadilly Radio in Manchester. He also regularly performed in nightclubs and youth discos across Manchester run by Savile.

Teret, who used the stage name Ugly Ray Teret, and had a gold bracelet emblazoned with “Ugli”, would walk around the dancefloor selecting young girls and showering them with attention. Starstruck and in awe of his celebrity status, the girls would then go back to properties Teret either owned or lodged in, where he would rape them.

His offending finally came to light following the Savile scandal. Moved by what she had seen on the news, the first of Teret’s victims contacted police in October 2012 and Teret was arrested the following month. The ensuing publicity caused a domino effect and a number of Teret’s other victims then came forward.

DCI Graham Brock said: “This case has attracted a lot of media interest due to Teret’s status and friendship with the late Jimmy Savile. And it is clear that Teret revelled in his association with Savile and used that cult of celebrity to meet – and rape – impressionable underage girls.

“We also must acknowledge that it was the Jimmy Savile scandal, and the mass publicity it generated, that encouraged these women to break their decades of silence and speak out, exposing Teret for the dangerous sexual predator he is. There are no positives to take from Savile’s appalling crimes, but by prompting Teret’s victims to come forward, someone who is still alive has now been brought before the courts and finally made to answer for their heinous crimes.”

Brock said that Teret had used his celebrity status to prey on naive and inexperienced girls. “Some have described it as like being with royalty or like going to bed with James Bond. Teret traded off that status and treated the clubs he performed in as hunting grounds to meet his victims. Once he had raped them, he discarded them like objects and moved on to his next victim.

“This was not a generational thing. This was not how it was in the 60s and 70s. Rape has always been rape and Teret took advantage of his fame and his power to manipulate the affections of impressionable young girls for his own sexual gratification. It is clear from the cold, cruel remarks he made to the victims, and the fact he carried on abusing girls for many years, that he thought he was untouchable, convinced by his own megalomania that he would never be caught.”

• This article was amended on 7 December and 8 December 2014. An earlier version said William Harper was convicted on one charge and Alan Ledger was convicted on four charges. That was incorrect. The men were cleared of all charges. We apologise for the error.