Image copyright Guy Grandjean Image caption Kevin Brown said that from the age of 12 he was raped or abused by at least 20 men

Allegations that a paedophile ring abused boys in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, in the 1980s and 90s have been made by a man who said he is one of the victims.

Kevin Brown told BBC NI's Spotlight programme that at least 20 men molested or raped him.

He said it began when he was 12 and continued for more than three years.

He claimed he was aware of about a dozen other boys who were being abused by men in this group.

BBC Spotlight has spoken to other alleged victims who wish to remain anonymous, who say they were also molested by men in the Enniskillen area in this period.

Several of those victims name men who Mr Brown independently has said abused him, or they name other men as their abusers, in what Mr Brown and others say was a network.

In March this year, 45-year-old Mr Brown spoke to the Fermanagh newspaper, the Impartial Reporter, but on an anonymous basis.

Afterwards the newspaper was inundated with dozens of allegations of historic child abuse dating back decades, mostly in unrelated cases across County Fermanagh.

BBC Spotlight has specifically examined allegations made by Mr Brown and others in the Enniskillen area, and found apparent connections between the perpetrators.

Mr Brown is the first victim of the alleged paedophile network to waive his right to anonymity.

Image copyright Guy Grandjean Image caption Kevin Brown told BBC Spotlight reporter Stephen Dempster he was speaking out for other victims

He explained that before now he has always felt too scared and ashamed to go public.

"I haven't done anything wrong in this," he said.

"For me to move forward and heal, I need to speak up and be counted, not just for myself but all the other people that have been abused."

Mr Brown has claimed his abuse began in public toilets, in Nugent's Entry in Enniskillen.

"One evening I was walking through Enniskillen, I went to Nugent's Entry to the toilets and there was somebody in the cubicle," he said.

"I could see there was a person in there; I could see the feet and hands and they kind of ushered me in and I went inside and the man shut the door behind me."

Mr Brown said that the man assaulted him in the toilets and when he got out, he was sick on the pavement.

"I remember feeling really numb," he said.

Image caption Kevin Brown said the abuse continued into his teenage years

Mr Brown and others have said men abused them elsewhere in the Enniskillen area - in houses, cars and public places.

One of the men allegedly in the network was David Sullivan, a school bus driver and youth club leader from Enniskillen.

He did not abuse Mr Brown, but is accused of abusing others.

Sullivan disappeared from his home in Enniskillen in August 1998 and his body was found in bogland near Belcoo 18 months later.

His murder remains unsolved.

So far, police have said nine alleged abuse victims of Sullivan have made complaints to them, but there are concerns the number could be much higher.

Image caption The Impartial Reporter has reported several sex abuse allegations against murder victim David Sullivan

Police and other public agencies are facing questions from victims and their supporters as to why the alleged abuse was not discovered and stopped.

In May the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) assigned a team of specialist officers to investigate all these Fermanagh abuse cases.

The PSNI has said it has identified that there may be links between some men who have committed crimes on more than one victim but added, at present, it has no information to suggest there was a network of abusers.

But victims who have spoken to BBC Spotlight insist there was a network and have noted that the police team who investigated Sullivan's murder in 2002 said then that they believed he could have been part of a paedophile ring.

BBC Spotlight: "Fermanagh Abuse Secrets" will be broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland at 22:45 GMT on Tuesday, 26 November.