A Swindon man already serving a 29-year prison sentence for historic sex offences against children has been slapped with another seven and a half year term after another victim came forward.

Richard Passway, known as Rick, was first sentenced in May last year when he was told by a judge at Oxford Crown Court that he would spend the rest of his life behind bars.

But on Tuesday, Passway, a former taxi driver, received a concurrent seven year, six month sentence for indecently assaulting a nine-year-old girl in Fairford in the late 1980s.

Prosecutor Giles Nelson explained that the victim, now in her forties, had contacted Gloucestershire Police on June 13 last year, just a few weeks after the now 78-year-old had been sentenced in Oxford.

The victim stated she went to stay with Passway and his then-wife in Fairford for a week during the summer when the assault occurred. The break had been organised by social services and a charitable organisation providing children with places to stay in the countryside.

“This was not a scheme orchestrated by Passway - it had been initiated by his wife before they had got married," Mr Nelson stated.

“The victim says that on the penultimate night of her stay Passway came into the bathroom and put his hand in the bath water and comforted the girl. After she had got dressed for bed, he entered the bedroom and began stroking her on her legs to the top of her thigh.

"She pushed his hand away and told him 'don’t touch me there.' She said that she felt pain in the area for a period of time.

"Passway warned the girl that bad things would happen to her if she told anybody about this. ‘It will be our secret,’ he told her."

The court heard he then told her to come downstairs, putting her on his shoulders when she was naked.

Mr Nelson continued: “When the girl got back home she told her mother what had happened. The mother got on the phone straight away and rang Passway’s wife. It appears that some sort of discussion was had between Passway and his wife, during which the allegations were denied. The victim’s mother was told that nothing untoward had happened.”

When Passway, most recently of Bunce Road in Stratton, was questioned about the allegations he said he spent time with the children doing nice things with them, playing games with them, taking them to the farm and showing them the animals. He recalled that the children came from the Greater London area.

David Scutt, defending said: “I take nothing away from the seriousness of the offence but this sentencing is an academic exercise and it’s a shame it was not before the court at the time when Passway was originally sentenced.”

Judge Ian Lawrie KC agreed and said: “I am prevented from making any sentence that I pass today consecutive to the 29-year sentence that he is already serving, so the new term will effectively be swallowed up by his current lengthy term.”

The court heard that Passway had been found guilty by two juries in Oxford last year of 14 offences of indecent assault, six counts of rape and two counts of indecency with a child. 

Judge Lawrie told Passway: “This, in reality, is a delayed sentence as you are already serving a lengthy custodial term for a variety of sexual offences. Your offending was committed on a wholesale basis and was proven to be persistent.

“Your only mitigation is today’s guilty plea. The sentence I pass is an immediate custodial sentence of seven-and-a-half years and an additional one year on licence in the community when, and if, you are released from prison.”

The judge stated that Passway’s life-long sexual harm prevention order remains in place as does his sex offender registration for the same time period. The judge also subjected Passway to a restraining order not to contact his victim by any means.