A CHILD sex offender has been jailed after he misled his girlfriend about his past.

Judge Susan Evans said she had no doubt Peter Raggett was grooming the woman and her eight-year-old granddaughter.

Raggett, 56, who was already on the Sex Offenders' Register for life, appeared at the Isle of Wight Crown Court on Friday after admitting breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order he received in 2008 for sexual offences with children.

Prosecutor Christopher Stopa said: "In May this year, the defendant started using the dating app Plenty of Fish, where he began talking to a lady from Sussex.

"She described him as a very charming man, and from there a relationship bloomed, but Mr Raggett had not been using his real name."

The court heard how Raggett's new girlfriend had an eight-year-old granddaughter who would often be present during Raggett's visits.

Mr Stopa said: "On three or four occasions he stopped over at her house while her granddaughter slept on a sofa bed downstairs.

"At the start of August, Mr Raggett's new girlfriend brought her granddaughter to the Island to visit him and take part in the Bembridge Fort Walk.

"A member of the public approached her and told her that Mr Raggett was a paedophile.

"She then returned with her granddaughter to the hotel and then fled the Island without speaking to him.

"The thought of her leaving her granddaughter alone with Mr Raggett no doubt should fill one with an overwhelming sense of dread."

Raggett, of Whitcombe Road, Carisbrooke, made full admissions in interview with the police after he was arrested on August 4.

He told police he was working up to an appropriate point to tell her about his past convictions, but breached his order when he was briefly left alone with the granddaughter on a number of occasions.

Graham Gilbert, defending Raggett, said: "This case paints a picture of quite a lonely man who is looking for companionship.

"They met as adults on an adult dating app, he wasn't on there seeking to meet children, and the time he spent alone with the granddaughter was by all accounts quite low."

Raggett received a 16 month custodial sentence.

Judge Evans said: "I have no doubt you were grooming both these people.

"The very first time you came across that child you should have had no further contact with that woman, but you did."