HOW on earth was a man convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl allowed to remain a trustee for a children's education charity?

Edward Roberts continued to serve on the board of three charities – Grafton and Stonehall Education Foundation, Grafton Flyford Relief in Need and the Sir John Grafton charity – despite being jailed for assaulting the girl.

Although there is no suggestion that Roberts would have come into contact with children as part of his role, it is still totally inappropriate that he was still on the board of the charities after his conviction and remained listed as a trustee until this weekend just gone.

Roberts would have been placed on the sex offenders register when sentenced in 2012 aged 72 and, under current guidelines, should remain on that register for at least 10 years.

The three charities for which he was on the board are all based at the same address in Grafton Flyford, the small village in which Roberts lives, and I cannot believe that the other trustees would not have been aware of his convictions and that he was therefore totally inappropriate for the role.