A PREDATORY paedophile went on to abuse another youngster after police and social services failed to act when he repeatedly assaulted a seven-year-old girl, a court heard.

David Grant, 66, forced the girl to engage in vile sex acts between 1985 and 1990, Basildon Crown Court was told.

Brett Weaver, prosecuting, said the abuse was uncovered in 1990 when the girl told her mother and showed her drawings she made depicting the acts.

Her GP was informed and he called in police and social services, but no action was taken because the girl feared going to court. Grant continued to have access to the child, although no further abuse took place.

Grant, of St Helen’s Road, Westcliff, was jailed for six years in February for carrying out a campaign of sexual abuse against another youngster between 2012 and 2016.

The Echo told at the time how Grant, nicknamed “Totty”, went on sex tourism trips to Thailand and took covert photos of children on the beach.

Grant appeared via videolink to admit two counts of sexual assault and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Each count covered multiple occasions.

Mr Weaver said: “They came to light following the victim reading a newspaper article covering the other allegations. As a result of reading that article and discussions with her family she reported the allegations in November last year.”

Mr Weaver described how the girl told her mother and showed the drawings to her doctor. He said: “At that time police and social services became involved. The victim reluctantly spoke to the police. She felt it was easier if she didn’t proceed with the allegation at that time. No further incidents took place.”

Mr Weaver read a victim impact statement in which the woman said she is “struggling with anxiety” and is “withdrawn”.

She said: “Totty has affected my life so much by abusing me. This has been so hard for me to write but I want him to know what he has done to me.”

Mr Weaver added: “She began to binge drink. At the age of 17 she progressed to substance abuse.

“She goes on to say that she has had unhealthy relationships with men who were physically and emotionally abusive towards her.”

Judge David Pugh said if the charges had been admitted at the time of the February sentencing he would have handed Grant a total sentence of ten years.

He told him: “It’s clear that this has had a significant effect on the victim. She has suffered from anxiety and self-harm and it has affected her relationships. I am satisfied that you present a significant risk of harm to children by committing further offences.”

He handed Grant a total of four years for the new offences, to run consecutively to the six year sentence. He will also be subject to an extended five year licence period when released.

Abuser caught after uploading images to Facebook

DAVID Grant carried out systematic sexual abuse against at least two victims and was only brought to justice after he accidentally uploaded two category C images of a child to Facebook in August 2015.

Officers from the Essex Police online investigation team (POLIT) subsequently searched his home and found tens of thousands of images of children on his computer.

He was released on bail but was re-arrested in November after officers scouring the sick photos found Grant himself was carrying out the abuse and the images were stills from covertly recorded videos.

Sadly, the three month gap allowed him to continue the assaults. After his first arrest, Grant told the girl that he was “going away” and asked whether she wanted a “goodbye massage”.

Grant later told police that although he knew the abuse was illegal he did not see any harm because both he and the girl “enjoyed it”.

The painter and decorator warned the girl the meetings were “our little secret” and he would buy her gifts and fast food as a reward.

The court also heard he took frequent trips to Thailand and police found photographs of children on a beach, taken secretly by Grant.

It raises the question of how many more victims Grant may have attacked.

In February, Grant admitted seven counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of sexual activity in the presence of a child, covering at least 30 occasions.

He also admitted one count of possessing indecent photographs of children, three counts of making indecent images of children, and two counts of taking an indecent photograph of a child.