Former EastEnders' star pleads guilty to child sex offences

A former EastEnders’ actor has pleaded guilty to committing sexual offences against three teenage girls while in a position of trust.

Joseph Shade, a youth worker, played Ian Beale’s son, Peter Beale, in the hit BBC One soap from 1998 until 2004.

The 24 year old has admitted five counts of causing or inciting a child under 18 to engage in sexual activity while in a position of trust and one count of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.

Prosecutor Chris Paxton told Norwich Crown Court that while Shade was working as a youth worker in Norfolk he sent sexual text messages to girls and touched one on the bottom.

This happened between 2012 and 2015, when the girls were aged between 14 and 17 years old.

Mr. Paxton said: “He himself attended that youth project as a young person and got help from them

“As he reached the age of 18 he became formally employed as a youth worker and in this capacity as a youth worker he then engaged with many young people who came from similar backgrounds and vulnerabilities as he had.

“During the course of his employment he accepts by his pleas that his relationships became too close to a number of attendees and he would engage with them by texting them messages asking them to have sex or to send sexual pictures of breasts and the like.

“On one occasion and only one occasion he touched one of them.”

Shade was said to be “tearful and expressed a degree of remorse” when interviewed by the police and has no previous convictions.

The former child star previously denied 11 sexual offences against four girls and after admitting six sexual offences against three girls the prosecution have ordered that the remaining five counts lie on file.

Shade was arrested and charged in October 2016 after he was investigated by Norfolk Police’s Child Abuse Investigation Unit.

Judge Maureen Bacon has now released the actor on bail until a sentencing date is fixed, warning that he might be sent to prison.

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