Husband and wife sentenced over drug and child sex offences

A husband and wife described as "master manipulators" after being convicted of 94 drug and child sex offences will be sentenced later.

Nicholas Taylor, 47, was found guilty of 62 charges, while 42-year-old Joan Taylor was found guilty of 22 offences - including rape, indecency with a child and supply of class A drugs.

Both had pleaded guilty to other offences before the trial began at Leicester Crown Court in February.

The crimes took place against boys and girls as young as 11, between 1996 and 2006. Their 11 victims were aged 16 or under at the time of the incidents.

Northamptonshire Police said the investigation into the Taylors, of Briar Hill, Northampton, began in 2014 and was the largest of its type in the force's history.

Speaking after their conviction, Detective Inspector Adam Pendlebury, who oversaw the investigation, said: "The Taylors were master manipulators who used crack cocaine to force their victims to engage in sexual activity against their will and their actions have had a devastating impact on their victims' lives."

The pair will be sentenced at Leicester Crown Court later.