Four people found guilty of running Norwich paedophile ring

Three people at the centre of a paedophile ring in Norfolk have been jailed for more than 70 years in total.

Marie Black, 34, from Norwich, was given a life sentence and told she would serve a minimum of 24 years.

Jason Adams, 44, from Norwich, and Michael Rogers, 46, from Romford in Essex, were each jailed for 24 years for their part in the abuse which involved five children over a 10-year period.

A fourth defendant, Carol Stadler, 59, from Norwich, was found guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm. She was jailed for six months.

Six other people also stood trial but were cleared of all counts.

A woman at the centre of a child abuse ring has been jailed for life.

Marie Black, 34, from Norwich, was convicted of 23 offences including rape, conspiracy to rape and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, at a trial earlier this year.

Sentencing her at Norwich Crown Court, Judge Nicholas Coleman told her she would serve at least 24 years in prison.

During the trial, the jury was told the five young victims - two boys and three girls - had been used as "sexual play things" over the course of 10 years.

Two men also found guilty of sexual offences will also be sentenced this afternoon. A woman convicted of causing actual bodily harm will be sentenced at a later date.

Four people who ran a paedophile ring in Norwich will be sentenced later today.

Earlier this year Marie Black, 34, of Atkinson Close in Bowthorpe, was found guilty of more than 20 offences including rape, conspiracy to rape, and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

She was said to be at the centre of the Norfolk paedophile ring which subjected five young children to sexual and physical abuse for more than a decade.

Michael Rogers, 53, of Defoe Way in Romford, Essex, was found guilty of 14 offences including cruelty and rape. Jason Adams, 43, of Aspland Road, Thorpe Hamlet, was convicted of similar offences, while Carol Stadler, 59, of Atkinson Close, Bowthorpe, was found guilty of causing actual bodily harm.

They will be sentenced at Norwich Crown Court.

Six other defendants were cleared of all charges.