A paedophile who ran a letting agency and preyed on vulnerable young tenants has pleaded not guilty to breaking the Bail Act and absconding.

Alfred Palmer, who was also a landlord, is currently in prison for sexually abusing vulnerable boys.

He had used his position to bully two teenagers who had looked for a home after leaving social services care.

He forced them to strip off and take part in sexual acts as he interviewed the prospective tenants.

Palmer, 57, and his co-defendant, boyfriend Daniel Tapper, went on trial in 2005. However, the trial collapsed and the case was delayed further when a new complainant came forward.

He and Tapper were given permission to go on holiday because they said they were stressed at the forthcoming second trial.

They disappeared to Turkey shortly before they were due back at Plymouth Crown Court. It was subsequently found they had taken £300,000 with them, after selling their houses and cars.

They were tried in their absence in 2007. Palmer was found guilty of four offences of indecent assault. He subsequently received a five-year sentence.

The pair were traced after a Crimewatch appeal resulted in British holidaymakers who had been to Turkey coming forward.

Tapper returned immediately, and a further 36 months were added to his earlier 30-month sentence for jumping bail.

However, Palmer fought extradition and was finally brought back to Britain in September 2012.

In his latest court appearance at Exeter Crown Court, he claimed he was forced to leave the UK because of threats made by a victim during the aborted first trial.

He accused the judge, Judge Francis Gilbert QC, of tacitly condoning the threats.

He said: “I left the country because of duress of circumstances and threats to my life. One of the witnesses at my trial gave evidence he intended to murder me.

“You did not say anything when he made his threats. My case is you gave tacit permission for murder because you did not warn him.”

Judge Gilbert, who heard both the original trials, adjourned the case to allow Palmer more time to prepare.

Palmer, who is representing himself, is in Channings Wood Prison with a proposed release date of next March.

As a letting agent, he does not fall under the Estate Agents Act, meaning that he cannot be banned from the industry. As such, he could work in either sales or lettings.

He ran a letting agency, Palmer & Co, of which Tapper was also a director, in Mutley Plain, Plymouth.