A millionaire philanthropist who led a double life as a depraved sex attacker has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Retired businessman Ian Elliott, 71, was described by his victims as a monster who ruined lives after he filmed himself drugging and raping teenagers and young men over decades.
Outwardly, the married father of two was a pillar of the community in Wisborough Green, a village in West Sussex, who funded local sports clubs and a cricket pavilion.
But police discovered hours of videos of his attacks that he had recorded in rooms above the garages at his rural mansion, in a home studio he called The Penthouse.
Some of the men, all in their late teens or early twenties, had no idea what Elliott had done to them until they were contacted by police.
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The videos were only revealed after a victim came forward to the police, and Elliott tried to get a friend to dispose of a tin full of camera memory cards during a prison phone call while remanded in custody.
Another 75 charges followed after the cards were handed to detectives.
In more than 90 hours of video recordings and hundreds of thousands of pictures, Elliott was seen carrying out sometimes violent sexual abuse and rapes in the studio, often involving riding boots, straps and a wetsuit.
The tycoon edited his videos and rewatched his attacks, Hove crown court was told.
Descriptions of his horrific video collection were read out in silence, the clips deemed too disturbing to play in open court.
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Elliott, who made his fortune building an office supplies company, groomed his victims with gifts of money, foreign holidays and trips in his helicopter and onboard his boat.
The final indictment against him detailed 92 charges including 11 rapes, sexual assaults, actual bodily harm, drug possession and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
He initially denied anything had happened, only changing his position when confronted with his own recordings.
Rachel Beckett, prosecuting, said Elliott subjected his victims to degradation and humiliation.
They are seen in riding boots with their arms bound and in some videos Elliott dresses them in a wetsuit. Most of his victims had no memory what had happened to them.
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Elliott used a variety of drugs on his victims and kept a sharps box for used needles. After watching the recordings, an expert described many of his victims as being almost comatose.
The last sexual assault was in June 2017 when Elliott was 64.
“The numerous videos of the men being sexually assaulted and raped are distressing to watch,” Beckett said. “At times, one victim is asleep and snoring. At times, he is conscious but not coherent and appears not to understand where he is. He is clearly in pain on some occasions.”
Elliott referred to himself as Boss and encouraged his victims to call him Boss or Boss Man.
“The defendant was well known within the village of Wisborough Green and its community,” Beckett said.
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“He was the chairman of the Wisborough Green Sports Association between 2012 and 2018 and then treasurer until 2020. He took a leading role in the running of the association and effectively ran the adjoining pavilion and social club which played a key role in the community.”
When his office supply business was sold in 2019, the firm was valued at £3 million.
One man who read his statement to the court in person said: “There are years I will never get back.
“This monster was not the man we all believed him to be. I still, and will be for a long time, be picking up the pieces of his mess. I suffer from nightmares and I long for the day this case is not consuming my brain and we can live a normal life.
“Not only is he a rapist, sexual abuser and liar, he is a con artist and a monster.”
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In a second victim statement, another man said his life would never be the same after being told Elliott abused him while he was unconscious.
He said: “I was drugged and sexually assaulted. It has made me feel less of a man. Everyone says I’m brave but I’m still embarrassed. I don’t know what other people know or are thinking about me or the case.
“The other victims are some of the strongest, mentally, men I know. I keep blaming myself. I’m just glad I was able to stop another boy from getting drugged and sexually assaulted or worse.
“At least there will be justice and the community will know the truth about who he is and what he does. Now he’s caught and can’t do more horrific things, the public will know how evil he really is.”
More victims have been identified and police are hopeful they will come forward following Elliott’s conviction.
Elliott was sentenced to 18 years in prison and a further five years on extended licence. He will serve 12 years before being eligible for parole.
Detective Superintendent Miles Ockwell said: “Today’s sentence means that Ian Elliott will spend a significant amount of the rest of his life in prison. This is the only appropriate outcome given the multiple lives he has ruined as a result of his relentless campaign of sexual abuse, hidden behind the façade of a trustworthy pillar of his local community.
“I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the bravery of Elliott’s victims who came forward to help us bring him to justice. They will live with the effects of the horrendous abuse they have suffered for the rest of their lives.”
