A 79-year-old man who spent 29 years sexually assaulting children – both boys and girls – across Essex has been jailed for 17 years.

Allan Hammond, of Steeple View in March, Cambridgeshire, was found guilty of 11 offences earlier this month and sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court today (Friday, August 17).

The judge overseeing the case, Judge Christopher Morgan, praised the “compelling evidence” as he sentenced Hammond, who committed the offences between 1961 and 1990.

These sick attacks took place in a variety of locations, including Chigwell, Saffron Walden and Tolleshunt D’Arcy.

Hammond was originally charged in December 2015.

He faced his first trial for these offences in November 2016, but was met with a hung jury for all but one offence.

He was found guilty of making indecent images of children, which officers found on a laptop they had seized from his home.

The retrial began at Chelmsford Crown Court on July 9 this year.

After a 10 day trial, he was found guilty of a further 11 offences including the rape of a girl under the age of 16, five counts of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 13, two counts of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 16, one count of indecent assault of a boy under the age of 16 and one count of committing buggery with a boy under the age of 16.

He has been placed on the sex offender’s register for life and today, August 17, was sentenced to 17 years in prison with a further two years on licence.

Det Con Claire Learmouth, of the Grays Child Abuse Investigation Team, has led the investigation since the beginning.

She said: “I would like to commend the exceptional bravery of the victims in this case.

“Without their courage in facing Hammond not once, but twice, in court, we may not have had this result.

“I hope that this can give the much-needed message to others that it is never too late for victims to come forward.”

Det Con Stacie Collins, also from the Grays Child Abuse Investigation Team, added: “This was an incredibly difficult trial for the victims, and I cannot thank them enough for coming together and facing Hammond in court again.

“Sadly, we will never be able to get back the years he stole from them, but I hope that this substantial sentence can go some way in helping their lives move forward.”