Court sketch of Nicholas and Joan Taylor (Picture: SWNS)

A couple used a young boy as a human dart board and shot him with a crossbow, a court heard.

Nicholas and Joan Taylor, who got married in 2002, have gone on trial accused of 131 counts of abuse against ten children.

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They allegedly gave the youngsters crack cocaine to make them ‘more compliant’ before subjecting them to a string of horrific sex acts between 1996 and 2006.

A court heard when police raided their home in Northampton they found a baseball bat under the bed inscribed with the words ‘The Pain’.


Prosecutor David Herbert QC said Nicholas fired a crossbow at one of his victims and made him stand in front of a dart board at their home.



He said: ‘Nicholas Taylor would also throw darts at him. If he moved he could be hit.’

Nicholas Taylor appearing at Leicester Crown Court yesterday (Picture: SWNS)

The court heard Nicholas was the ‘dominant figure’ in the abuse against 11 male and female victims, ten of whom were children.

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Jurors were told one girl was injected with amphetamines to get her hooked and then driven to a layby to perform sex acts on a man.

Another boy was made to carry out sex acts on Nicholas and Joan in return for crack cocaine, the court heard.

Nicholas, 47, admitted cruelty at Leicester Crown Court yesterday in relation to forcing a boy to stand in front of a dart board while he fired a cross bow at him.

Joan, 43, has admitted four counts of indecency with a child, four counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and one of cruelty to a person under 16.

The couple deny 102 offences (Picture: SWNS)

She also pleaded guilty to working as a prostitute, which was encouraged by her ‘controlling’ and ‘manipulative’ husband.

But the couple deny 102 other offences including rape of a child, possessing indecent images of children and sexual activity with under-16s.

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Mr Herbert described Nicholas as a ‘bullying’ figure who liked to think of himself as a local ‘hard man’.

‘It’s the prosecution’s case that he could be violent, threatening and controlling,’ he said.

‘That included his wife and anyone he came into contact with.’

The court also heard how Nicholas gave lectures to schools in his local area on being a ‘reformed criminal.’

Mt Herbert added: ‘He was involved in giving talks to schools about the dangers of taking drugs.

‘He had been on TV and in local newspapers talking about how he was a reformed character.’

The trial continues.