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(Image: FACEBOOK / GETTY)

Twisted Peter Gillett, 59, who boasted about his gangland connections, raped and abused kids as young as eight.

The victims recently came forward after seeing comments on an online message board claiming Gillett had molested a young boy.

It prompted a police investigation into allegations of rape, indecent assault, causing actual bodily harm and child cruelty.

Lewes Crown Court heard that Gillett abused an eight-year-old boy until he was aged 15 and two girls from the ages of 13 to 15 years, from 1988 through to 1996, in Crawley, West Sussex.

Self-employed Gillett, of Littlehampton, West Sussex, was convicted at the court of seven counts of non-recent sexual offences, some involving multiple occasions.

He will also be a registered sex offender for life.

Gillet sacked his own counsel part-way through proceedings and decided, unsuccessfully, to defend himself.

He was cleared on a count of rape and a count of indecent assault against the first girl and one count of indecent assault against the boy.

(Image: GETTY) (Image: FACEBOOK)

The prosecution followed an investigation by detectives from the West Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit.

Detective Constable Rees Hopcraft said: "These offences came to light in 2016 when the two girls, by then in their forties, contacted us after learning of online postings suggesting that Gillet had sexually abused a young boy.

"We investigated and gradually uncovered a series of offences of sexual abuse by him against all three victims when they were young and vulnerable children, over a period of years.

"All three gave evidence against him and after a long trial, during which Gillett discharged his counsel and defended himself, the jury convicted him of the sexual offences.

(Image: GETTY) (Image: AMAZON)

Gillett grew close to notorious mobster Reggie Kray while they served time in prison together and Kray once described the sex abuser as his "adopted son."

The duo even wrote a song together, entitled "I Began To Notice", signed copies of which have previous been available on online retailer, Amazon.

Gillett’s conviction comes after his own son, Liam, reportedly claimed he abused him when he was nine.

He responded by begging the Jeremy Kyle show for a lie detector test in a bid to clear his name, according to reports.