Northampton couple guilty of 84 child sex and drug charges Published duration 16 March 2017

image caption Joan and Nicholas Taylor abused the children in their home for over a decade, the court was told

A couple has been convicted of carrying out a decade of sex and drug abuse against children, including rape.

Nicholas Taylor, 47, and Joan Taylor, 43, targeted children as young as 11 and supplied them with crack cocaine.

The 84 offences by the "master manipulators" occurred between 1996 and 2006, Leicester Crown Court was told.

Taylor, who had previous convictions for indecency, and his wife, a former prostitute, pleaded guilty to 10 charges.

They will be sentenced at a later date.

image caption Taylor presented himself as a reformed criminal and made appearances on BBC radio and TV before his conviction

Det Insp Adam Pendlebury, from Northamptonshire Police, praised the "extraordinary courage" of the Taylors' 11 victims.

He said: "The Taylors were master manipulators who used crack cocaine to force their victims to engage in sexual activity against their will and their actions have had a devastating impact on their victims' lives."

He described Nicholas Taylor as a "very dangerous, depraved individual" and his co-accused as "a more than willing accomplice".

The investigation into the couple began in 2014 and was the largest of its type in the force's history.

The charges

image copyright Northamptonshire Police image caption The husband and wife's victims were aged 16 or under at the time of the attacks

Nicholas Taylor was found guilty of:

10 counts of rape

Three counts of rape of a child under 13

One count of attempted rape

One count of actual bodily harm

10 counts of indecency with a child

11 counts of sexual activity with a child

Nine counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child

Four counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity

Four counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration

Two counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act

One indecent assault

Six counts of supplying Class A drugs

He pleaded guilty to:

One count of cruelty to a person under 16

Joan Taylor was found guilty of:

Six rapes

Two rapes of a child under 13

Two counts of sexual activity with a child

Five counts of indecency with a child

Three counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child

Four counts of supplying Class A drugs

She pleaded guilty to:

Four counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child

Four counts of indecency with a child

One count of cruelty to a person under 16