A "predatory" former school bus driver who sexually abused children over four decades has been told by a judge he is likely to die in prison.

Paedophile Graham Kemp was first brought to justice in June 2018 for molesting two young girls in the 1990s and early 2000s.

But an article on KentOnline about that conviction at Canterbury Crown Court led to two other victims of his deviant behaviour in the 1960s and 1980s coming forward - and now the pensioner is starting a 21-year jail term.

The 76-year-old, who has a number of health issues, sat stoney-faced and with his arms folded across his chest as he was told at the same court by Recorder Michael Turner that he faced spending the rest of his days behind bars.

Passing sentence, he told Kemp his latest conviction following a trial in October last year "served to complete the picture painted by the prosecution of a predatory, paedophile sex offender”.

"They established, taking into account your other convictions, that you have indeed committed sex offences throughout much of your adult life," said Recorder Turner.

"Throughout those decades of offending, it is abundantly clear that you have preyed upon vulnerable young girls.

"You deny you have any sexual interest in children. That is plainly a lie on your part.

"You have a very clear interest in committing sexual offences against children and I note that some of your offending has involved downloading illegal images of children engaged in sexual activity.

"Your counsel has candidly accepted on your behalf that any sentence I pass on you is effectively going to be a life sentence because you will probably spend the rest of your life in custody.

"However, you are almost 77 years of age now and there is a strong likelihood that even if you survive to your release from custody, you will be of such an age and so feeble as a consequence that you will pose no threat to young girls in the future."

Kemp was told he will have to serve 14 years of his jail term - and will therefore be 90 years old - before becoming eligible for parole. He will then be subject to an extended licence period of two years.

Jurors had found him unanimously guilty of six offences of indecent assault, one of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and one of rape, all committed between the 1960s and 1980s, following a two-week trial.

The court heard the two victims – one he had met while driving his bus – had kept their ordeals secret until the KentOnline court report prompted them to "unlock" the horrors they had suffered at Kemp's hands to police.

The former Herne Bay resident however "flatly denied" the accusations on arrest and claimed the women had "jumped on the bandwagon".

He also callously branded their accounts given to police as "absolute cobblers and compensation-driven".

One was "promiscuous", the cruel paedophile claimed, and had "stalked and pestered" him until he "gave in to what she wanted" when she was no longer under-age.

The court wants them to know that they are not to blame for any of this. They are victims and they should not feel anything other than that...

As far as the other victim was concerned, Kemp, whose last known address was in Gosselin Street, Whitstable, protested they did no more than "playfight".

Recorder Turner paid tribute to their courage, however, telling the predator that while his initial offending was "opportunistic", he then "saw the opportunity to get away with it" on future occasions.

"You robbed them of their ability to resist you in any way, either by threats or implied threats, or by your grooming behaviour," the judge continued.

"There has been significant impact on both of those ladies over the years since their encounters with you. Both, from their victim impact statements, feel dreadful and have suffered very long-term consequences of the abuse.

"The court wants them to know that they are not to blame for any of this. They are victims and they should not feel anything other than that.

"I do hope they will now be able, as they say in their statements, to get on with the rest of their lives."

At the start of Kemp's trial, prosecutor Oliver Dunkin told the court he had been "a serial sexual abuser for many, many years".

Referring to how the KentOnline report about his previous conviction prompted the women to contact police, Mr Dunkin said: "In June 2018, Graham Kemp was sent to prison at this court for sexual offences in relation to two different girls in the 90s and early part of the Millennium.

"As you will readily appreciate, that happening attracts press attention, and the local press attention that received was directly and indirectly the trigger for these two ladies, as they now are, to come forward and tell their story of being victims when they were girls."

One abused in the late 1960s was said to have "broken down" when she learned the three-times wed, former bus and taxi driver had gone on to abuse other young girls, and told police she felt "terrible guilt" she had not come forward sooner.

You robbed them of their ability to resist you in any way, either by threats or implied threats, or by your grooming behaviour...

Mr Dunkin said however that as a child she had been left "scared and intimidated" by Kemp, as well as "hard-wired" by him into thinking no one would believe her.

The second victim also saw the article and, having first confided in an old school friend, alerted police in June 2019.

Her account of the abuse she suffered at Kemp's hands was "extremely detailed", said the prosecutor, and resulted in a recorded interview lasting four hours.

She described how in the 1980s when he was her school bus driver he had groomed her with compliments, praise and gifts, before taking on the "twisted" role of "sex teacher".

The prosecutor told the jury it was "classic behaviour by a clearly predatory and dangerous man".

"He groomed her under a general sort of guise as teacher. Teacher in what? Teacher in sex," said Mr Dunkin. "He became her self-appointed confidante. He latched on and preyed on her."

The court heard the girl was abused in various locations, including Kemp’s car, in woods, on the backseat of the bus while still wearing her uniform, and at his matrimonial home.

He also bought the schoolgirl a ring he made her wear as a symbol of commitment.

Kemp, however, maintained when he gave evidence that he had not abused either of his accusers.

The court heard that at the time of his deviant behaviour with the second victim he was married to his third wife, who was about 16 years his junior.

He became her self-appointed confidante. He latched on and preyed on her…

She too had been a passenger on his school bus from a young age - something Kemp told the jury was "purely coincidental". They started living together when she was 17 and married three years later.

It was in the late 1980s following the discovery by his then-pregnant wife of the receipt for the "commitment" ring that Kemp and the girl were confronted.

Her father later complained to the bus company about his behaviour, which resulted in his sacking and him becoming a cabbie.

But Kemp told jurors he had neither groomed nor raped the girl, adding: "I didn't do anything wrong other than cheat on my wife."

Details of his previous offending, for which he had been jailed for five-and-a-half years, were heard at his trial, but giving evidence he asserted his innocence in respect of one girl, who he had met when she was a passenger in his taxi, and described the abuse of the other as "a stupid mistake".

At his sentencing hearing yesterday, defence barrister Amy Nicholson said the pensioner was "in almost constant pain" from osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and a degenerative spinal condition, and had undergone hip and knee replacement surgery.

She also told the court that Kemp was sole carer for his COPD-stricken partner of some 30 years.

Recorder Turner commended Kent Police and the investigating officer for their "dedication and perseverance" in what he described as a "harrowing case for everybody".