PAEDOPHILE brothers who repeatedly raped an eight-year-old boy have been jailed for a total of 24 years with a warning that they will still be a danger to children when released.

David Lench, 28, of Sudbury Close, Hockley, and his brother James Lench, 25, were found guilty in May of 18 counts of sexual abuse against the boy, carried out between 2003 and 2005.

But Basildon Crown Court heard both men have since been convicted of further child sexual offences.

James Lench, a former Scout leader, is already serving a nine-year prison sentence for sexually abusing three children between 2009 and 2010. Lench was released on licence part-way through his sentence but returned to jail after he was caught visiting a swimming pool.

David Lench, a chef, was handed a three-year community order in 2015 after he admitted downloading some of the most serious category A images of children.

Shauna Ritchie, prosecuting, told the court that when officers examined David Lench’s computer in 2015, they found highly disturbing searches for videos featuring the violent rape of children as young as one.

There were also chilling searches, on a dark web browser, for “how to abduct someone,” “good rope” and “hunting knives”.

Miss Ritchie said: “He said he was looking for art, naturism and teenage images, and it was his understanding that they were legal and it was out of curiosity.”

The court heard that the historic offences came to light after James Lench wrote a letter claiming to have been abused by his brother. The note mentioned the eight-year-old victim and he was subsequently tracked down by police.

A trial at Southend Crown Court heard the brothers never attacked the boy at the same time but both carried out similar assaults and threatened him with knives.

The court heard James Lench now claims the letter was “not true” and he had not been abused by his brother.

Recorder Gerard Pounder said the offences were "nasty" and that probation service reports found the pair would remain a danger to children.

David Lench was jailed for 12 years while James Lench was handed a ten year and four month sentence. Both will be subject to an extended licence period.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Con Marcus Baker, of the child abuse investigation team, praised the victim for speaking to police.

He said: “He is a very impressive man, a lot of people might have been broken by what happened to him. He said he wanted to make sure that David and James Lench could not harm anyone else.”