Soap regular promised to get me on show if I did what he said, says victim Steven
Five years of hell ... victim, left, says actor abused him with Harry Jeffries, right
David New
A SEX abuse victim told yesterday how an EastEnders actor groomed him as an 11-year-old.
Steven, not his real name, says he was promised a role on the BBC1 soap if he performed degrading acts.
He was forced to wear swimming trunks and cover himself in baby oil while the extra abused him and other sickos leered through peepholes.
Steven, now a 37-year-old engineer, suffered FIVE YEARS of hell at their hands. He spoke out after The Sun revealed last month that cops were investigating claims of underage sex abuse by staff on the soap.
Then ... 'Steven' suffered sickening abuse as teen
David New
Steven said: “A mate who was already being secretly abused, told me I should meet his EastEnders friend.
“This man and the gang started abusing me within days. They said, ‘If you do this we’ll get you on the show.”
Steven said the actor, who cannot be named, regularly appeared in the Albert Square market.
He added: “I think up to 50 boys were abused but hardly anyone had the courage to go to court.
“Some victims did get a walk-on part. An extra could not arrange that by himself.
“That makes me sure other people on the show were involved in the paedophile ring.”
The abuse of Steven and his friend started in 1987 — two years after the show’s launch — when they visited the flat of another paedo, Harry Jeffries, in Stoke Newington, London.
Steven added: “Three men abused me — the EastEnders actor, Jeffries and another man.
“I would go to the bedroom with one of them for an hour where I would be abused. They would take photos and film me naked.
“A bathroom had been turned into a darkroom so they could develop pictures of me.
“Holes had been cut in the walls everywhere and there was another room behind the bedroom so others could watch. There were two-way mirrors and the air vent was stuffed full of cameras.
“I never knew how many men were getting their kicks watching me suffer.”
Steven was given money to spend on treats and amusement arcades and started smoking cannabis.
He added: “I was too scared and ashamed to speak out. I was so worried about my family being told.”
EastEnders ... set
In 1992, when Steven was 16, cops visited his home with hundreds of pictures of him which they had found at the gang’s other flat.
Jeffries was jailed for two years for taking and possessing indecent photos.
He was found not guilty of indecent assault and served just one year.
Chief Insp Ian Delbarre, formerly of Stoke Newington Child Protection Team, said at the time: “The problem was the trial was linked to a much larger investigation by Scotland Yard and Dutch police.
“Some victims had already been interviewed three times then a re-trial was ordered. Most of the boys had been through enough.”
Steven later battled drink and drug problems but is now clean. He has children who he sees regularly and is in a steady relationship.
Last month police told The Sun they were probing claims that paedos working on the show in the 80s and 90s preyed on young fans.
The BBC is reeling from the Jimmy Savile scandal. Steven said: “I was glad to hear about the investigation. There was a cancer among the EastEnders staff and I want to help expose it.”
It is not alleged that senior staff or past cast members are suspects or knew of illegal activities. Recent staff are not under suspicion.
A BBC spokesperson said: “These allegations were brought to our attention when they were made public in the 1990s and the individual ceased working for the BBC at this time.”
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