A DAD who sexually abused two young girls about ten years apart has been remanded in custody by a judge.

James Granato, 28, who has served time in the past for attempted rape, was found guilty of molesting a nine-year-old girl between 2003 and 2005.

And Granato was also found guilty of getting a 12-year-old girl to touch him between the legs in November 2014.

Granato, of Wrenswood, Covingham, had denied all the charges but was convicted of abusing both girls following a trial at Swindon Crown Court.

Now Judge Sir John Royce has told him that he is facing a jail term for the latest spate of offending saying: "A custodial sentence is inevitable".

He told him: “Mr Granato, I am adjourning sentence in this case for a presentence report. It is in your interest to co-operate with the preparation of that report.

“Sentence will take place on Friday, November 4. In the meantime you will be remanded in custody.”

He will also have to register as a sex offender, though he already has to do so for the rest of his life as a result of his previous conviction.

On that occasion he chased after a 20-year-old woman friend who he had met up with in the middle of the night and tried to force himself on her in an alleyway.

At his trial this week Granato insisted both girls, one a woman now in her twenties, were making it all up because of his past.

But the jury of six men and six women rejected his defence and found him guilty of six of the eight counts he was charged with.

They found that in the six months up to May 2004 he touched the nine-year-old indecently.

The victim told her mum about what had happened after another incident.

At the time she said his family was told about what had happened and Granato’s mum, who was a social worker, accused the girl of making up fairy tales.

However the matter wasn’t formally reported to the police until last year after they saw a piece in the Advertiser about the other allegations.

In that matter a 12-year-old girl, who was in friends with his wife’s family, had been visiting their flat in November 2014 to see their two-month old baby.

The schoolgirl said he told her needed a leg massage and would pay her, as he had done in the past, while his wife Kayleigh was in the shower but then abused her.

He stopped when his wife came out of the bathroom but then abused the girl again when his wife left.

Granato was convicted of two indecent assaults, two counts of sexual assault of a child and two of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was found not guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a child relating to the first victim.

An NSPCC spokesperson for South West England said: “This was a deeply disturbing case of abuse involving two vulnerable young girls.

“It is absolutely right that people who suffered child sexual abuse can seek justice and support no matter how much time has passed since their ordeal.

“We need to ensure that people who have been abused feel confident to come forward, safe in the knowledge that they will be believed and their voices heard.”

The NSPCC’s helpline for adults who require support is available 24 /7 and for free on 0808 800 5000. Help for children and young people is available through ChildLine on 0800 1111.