DETECTIVES believe there could be more sexual assault victims of a disgraced army cadet leader yet to come forward.

George Walker, 80, who was a lieutenant and later a captain with the force’s Burnley and Haslingden detachments in the mid-70s, embarked on a ‘campaign of abuse’ with the impressionable cadets.

Yesterday he was jailed for eight years and four months after four male victims came forward to report sexual abuse by Walker after reading coverage of the pervert's 2017 trial for similar offences.

Walker, who had moved from the Burnley and Rossendale areas to Plymouth, was jailed for five years and three months after being found guilty of molesting the two army cadets following that conviction.

Burnley Crown Court heard his latest appearance in the dock related to four boys, aged as young as 13. The 20 indecency offences Walker pleaded guilty to took place in the 1970s.

Prosecutor Lisa Worsley said Walker befriended at least two sets of parents and what began with kissing and fondling the youngsters later escalated to offences akin to rape.

Two of his victims told Judge Andrew Jeffries QC that his careful grooming, coupled with claims he would help them fulfill their dreams of joining the military, had driven them to consider or even attempt suicide in later life.

READ MORE > Army cadets captain molested four boys in Burnley and Rossendale

Speaking after the hearing, Det Sgt Mark Holland said: “All the victims in this case have been extraordinarily brave to come forward and report what happened to them and to be prepared to face their abuser in court.

“These boys have described how they have lived in torture after what Walker did to them all those years ago and I hope this sentence can help them somehow move forward with their lives. They need feel no shame or guilt – that burden is Walkers and Walkers alone to bear.

“Lancashire Constabulary will continue to investigate sexual abuse, no matter who the perpetrator or how long ago the abuse occurred and we would encourage anyone who has been a victim to come forward and report it, confident that it will be investigated professionally and sensitively.”