THE former wife of convicted rapist Graham Walsh today revealed he had been identified to police as a risk to children before he got a job as a school caretaker.

Sharon Whitehead, 30, of the Anchor area of Darwen, claims to have told police and social services about fears of the 34-year-old committing sex offences against children four years ago.

And she demanded to know how he was allowed to carry out a nine-month series of assaults when police knew about her fears.

Police today said that the previous allegations were investigated thoroughly - but that there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

Details of the previous investigation into Walsh were not passed on to St Peter's CE School, Darwen, because at that time, in early 2001, only actual convictions could be disclosed.

Had Walsh applied for his job after March 2002 when the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) was launched, his worrying history would have been uncovered.

This is because the CRB now has enough power so that someone applying for the post of school caretaker is subjected to the highest level of checks, called 'enhanced disclosure', which goes way beyond previous convictions and includes so-called "soft intelligence," such as unproven allegations and acquittals.

Walsh, of Melita Street, Darwen, was sentenced to nine years behind bars by Judge Pamela Badley at Preston Crown Court yesterday for the rape of a 16-year-old girl and a series of sexual assaults.

After that, he will be allowed out on a three-year license with strict conditions which could result in him returning to jail if he failed to comply.

The divorced father-of-one was employed at St Peter's between February 2001 and November 2002. He was found guilty of the "vile behaviour" on the girl, who was not a pupil, between March 2000 and January 2003.

Although Walsh was carrying out the assaults while working as a caretaker, education and social services were helpless as the allegations concerning those incidents were not made until April 2003, five months after he had left the caretaker role.

Walsh, who will now be on the sex offenders' register for life and banned from working with children, smiled to his parents when he appeared for sentencing yesterday and his father shook his head in disbelief at the sentence.

But Miss Whitehead, who married Walsh in 1994, was relieved by the news. She said: "We wanted him to go down for a long time and he has. I hope now his victim can get on with life and move forward."

Blackburn with Darwen education authority said vetting procedures in place at present could not always protect against the potential dangers of someone with no criminal history. Judge Badley said the sentence had to reflect the harm he inflicted on his victim during the nine-month campaign of assault and the need to deter others.

She said the minimum sentence for rape on a child was eight years and recommended Walsh follow a series of re-education programmes for sex offenders while in prison. She added: "The victim told the court of the control held over her life, restricting contact with her friends and the emotional effect and cost to her confidence and her continued feelings of isolation."