A CRUFTS winner with Kingswinford connections has been unmasked as a paedophile who carried out sickening sex acts on children.

Depraved Ian John Hopcutt was this week jailed for eight years after a jury found him guilty of 26 charges including indecent assault, attempted buggery and sexual activity with children.

Hopcutt, aged 42, was smiling when he celebrated along with Kingswinford dog breeder Sue Baker as co-owner of Scottish Terrier Glenheath Country Life, which was recently a runner-up in a puppy class for the breed at the prestigious dog show.

Evil Hopcutt, from Bucknell in Shropshire, denied the charges but was jailed at Hereford Crown Court after a jury took less than two hours to find him guilty on all counts.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

The victims of Hopcutt’s crimes cannot be identified but a source close to the case told the News: “He has shown no remorse through the whole thing.”

Hopcutt’s victims ranged in age from four to 16 and the details of the case are too harrowing for publication but the sometimes daily abuse and trauma of reliving the crimes in court has left mental scars which people close to them say may never heal.

The source, who also cannot be identified, said: “The one thing to come out of this is I would urge any victim to come forward, the jury did its job.”

As he posed for News Group cameras last month, Hopcutt knew he was only weeks away from the conclusion of a legal case which would bring to an end his twisted catalogue of offences dating back for around two decades.

Detective Inspector Jon Roberts, head of Public Protection in Herefordshire, said: "This was a protracted and difficult inquiry and I'd like to praise the dedication of the officers as well as the victims for persevering with us while the process has undoubtedly invoked difficult memories them.

"The length of the sentence recognises the seriousness of the offences and I hope it has brought some kind of resolution for the victims and that they can now pursue the rest of their lives."

In a chilling message on a website dedicated to his hobby of photography, Hopcutt, a respected company director, gave a clue to his sinister secrets.

He described taking pictures as a “distraction from life, distraction from the last 20 years of hell.”

When contacted by the News Sue Baker said she did not wish to comment on the case.