Former Sheffield Council boss jailed for a further seven years after admitting more sex offences

A disgraced former Sheffield Council education boss has been jailed for seven years after admitting further sex offences.
Roger DoddsRoger Dodds
Roger Dodds

Roger Dodds, aged 83 and formerly of Cotswold Road, Hillsborough, forced students to engage in sex acts to secure grant payments between 1974 and 1980 while working for the authority.

He is a serving prisoner who was jailed for 16 years in February 2017 for multiple indecent assaults against five victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Roger DoddsRoger Dodds
Roger Dodds
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Following that case, seven more victims came forward to report abuse.

Dodds is serving time for abusing four men and a boy while he worked for Sheffield Council in the 1970s and 80s. 

His victims were abused after they applied to the local authority’s education department for grants to go to college or university.

Dodds was jailed for seven years at Sheffield Crown Court today after admitting 14 counts of indecent assault.

The sentences will run consecutively to each other.

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A report on Dodds’ actions was commissioned by Sheffield City Council (SCC) in 2008 in response to police investigations. 

It said Dodds was able to exploit his position, first in the education department and later giving grants to college students, to ‘pursue his sexual satisfaction’, partly through ‘substantial unregulated and unsupervised access to schools’. 

Dodds was part of a pornography club, using the basement of the Leopold Street office and sharing material on the council’s internal mail system.

He was ‘careful and thoughtful’ about his choice of victim to minimise the risk of being found out, and boasted about his sexual exploits during his ‘extensive’ travelling abroad, the report said.

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Speaking after the hearing, Det Con Dorothy Fagan, who led the case, said: “The victims involved in this matter have shown immense courage in coming forward to report these crimes. Their strength of character throughout this investigation has been commendable.

"It is hoped that the result today will bring some closure and justice on their behalf. The outcome today demonstrates the commitment of South Yorkshire Police to tackling sexual offences and bringing offenders to justice regardless of when those offences took place.”

Jayne Ludlam, Sheffield Council’s executive director of People Services said: "We would like to reiterate our previous statement and apology regarding Roger Dodds.

" We continue to do everything we can to learn from this case and any other case.”