Patrick Ryan convicted of historic sexual offences. Pic: Met Police

Patrick Ryan, 64, was found guilty Tuesday 30 April of a continued series of sexual assaults on two young girls during the 1970s.

He was convicted by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court on four counts of rape, two counts of attempted rape and seven counts of indecent assault.

The two victims were aged seven and nine at the time the assaults began in 1973. The offences were committed in the Coleraine Road area of Blackheath SE3 where Ryan was living at the time.

Ryan would bring the girls to his flat while their mother was out working. The abuse continued over a number of years.

The women, now in their 40s, came forward to the police in late 2011 and early 2012. Ryan denied the assaults.

The investigation was undertaken by Sapphire Command, the unit of the Metropolitan Police which investigates rapes and sexual violence. Detective Chief Inspector Pete Thomas said: “The ordeal these two women went through as young children was horrific and traumatising.”

“To come forward after so long must have taken extreme courage and their determination to see justice has resulted in Ryan’s conviction. Ryan is a convicted paedophile who will now be monitored for the rest of his life as a registered sex offender.”

Detective Constable Joanne Crockford led the inquiry and said: “He took advantage of their age and extreme vulnerability and abused them for his own sexual gratification.”

“The victims should be commended for coming forward, even though these offences occurred some 40 years ago. They were supported through the Criminal Justice process to see their abuser convicted of these terrible offences.”

Ryan, who now lives in Plumstead, will be sentenced on Friday May 31.