Suffolk man Michael Costin jailed for 15 years at court

A string of former boy scouts gave harrowing accounts at Snaresbrook Crown Court of how their childhoods had been destroyed by former scout leader Michael Costin.

Costin was a geography teacher at Felixstowe's Orwell High School and also joined First Kirton Sea Scouts. 

One victim was represented by his father, having died before he could see his abuser brought to justice.

“I have an absolute abhorrence towards this defendant,” the victim’s father told the court. “He will definitely reoffend should he be released back into society.”

The man’s son had disclosed his abuse decades earlier in a letter, detailing the “shame” he suffered as a result.

Costin, 59, was already serving an indeterminate prison sentence, having amassed a catalogue of prior child sex convictions in Oxford, Suffolk and east London.

But since last summer he has been convicted of abusing another 14 children.

Four were molested while Costin was a scout leader at St Augustine’s Church, Rush Green, in the 1980s.

The other 10 were abused after Costin relocated to Suffolk in the 1980s, where he became a schoolteacher and a scout leader.

Costin pleaded guilty to 14 offences last summer, but the Recorder could not report his admissions because he was denying some other offences and faced trial.

This newspaper was finally able to break the news in January, when his guilty pleas were revealed to the jury in his trial as “bad character evidence”.

The trial heard Costin had been a "charismatic" and "sporty" man who the boy scouts viewed as a "hero", meaning some were racked with guilt even years later about revealing what he had done to them.

The jury convicted him of a further seven offences, after which prosecutors brought two more charges, which Costin also admitted.

This newspaper understands that police believe there may be even more victims yet to come forward.

Victims packed Court 19 at Snaresbrook on Tuesday and Wednesday this week to impress upon Judge Alex Gordon the severe impact of Costin’s abuse on their lives.

One Romford victim, forced to perform sex acts on Costin as a child, told the court: “I have a complete loss of trust in people, especially men or people in authority.

“Much of my life since the abuse I have suffered from or struggled with many limitations.”

Another told the court Costin had stolen his childhood, while a third detailed the guilt he felt about not having disclosed his abuse much sooner.

“Not a week has gone by when Costin and my inaction has not popped into my head,” he said.

“Michael Costin’s actions have impacted my life for over 40 years… it damaged my trust in authority figures and my relationships.”

The fourth Romford victim was the man who had since died and was represented in court by his father and prosecutor Walton Hornsby.

Costin – also known as Mick – is a prolific offender. He was first convicted and jailed in 1996 for molesting sea scouts in Kirton.

Michael Costin, who grew up in Romford, was first convicted in 1996 of molesting sea scouts in the Suffolk village of Kirton (Image: Newsquest)

After his release, he molested two more children in Oxfordshire and a boy in east London’s Docklands. That was when he received his indeterminate sentence.

More victims came forward after the Jimmy Savile revelations and subsequent high-profile investigations.

Initially referred to Suffolk police and Essex Police, the two investigations were merged and handed to the Metropolitan Police Service’s Operation Winter Key (since rebranded as the Complex Investigation Team).