A ‘dangerous’ paedophile in Sidmouth has been jailed after he befriended single mothers with young daughters.

Anthony James was also found with child abuse images including 58 which showed very serious sexual assaults or child rapes.

He moved to his mother’s home in Sidmouth after being freed from a jail sentence in Northamptonshire for assaulting a girl of the same age as the ones he targeted in Devon.

His behaviour was supposed to have been controlled by a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which banned him from having any contact with children unless the parents were told about his convictions and the police and social services alerted.

A judge at Exeter Crown Court jailed him and declared that James was a ‘dangerous offender’ who posed a risk to the public, and young children in particular.

James, aged 43, also known as Moncrieff, of High Meadow, Sidmouth, admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order and making, by downloading, indecent images of children.

He was jailed for four years, two months with a five year extended licence by Judge Stephen Climie. It means he will not be released until the end of his sentence unless deemed safe by the parole board.

He told him: “I conclude you are a dangerous offender and I am satisfied the public need to be protected properly by the addition of an extension of an additional licence.”

Mr Adrian Chaplin, prosecuting, said the Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) was imposed when James was jailed for sexual assault of a child on November 20, 2015, and remained in force when he moved to Devon.

He said: "He befriended through work or families or single mothers who had children of the target age of about eight. He paid considerable attention to them.

“The SHPO required him to make clear his convictions and what he did was a knowing, complete and persistent breach of the terms of the order with three different females.”

He said that more than 400 indecent images had been found on James’s phone after his arrest, including 58 which were classified in the worst category and showed penetrative sexual assault on children.

Mr Richard Crabb, defending, said James is keen to work to tackle his issues. He is currently helping to look after his 75-year-old mother.

In an unrelated case last month, James was cleared of sexually assaulting a woman who alleged he had handled her so roughly that she needed hospital treatment the next day.

He told the jury he was profoundly deaf but believed she had consented to everything that happened.