Scout leader had sex with 15-year-old girl on table in hut

A SCOUT leader had sex with a 15-yearold girl on a table in a scout hut before following her on a family holiday because he was jealous, a court heard.

Andrew Ranyard, 38, faces prison after betraying his position of trust to molest the girl at least five times a week in hotels, the hut, and his car.

He posed as a respectable member of the community, organising pool, darts and dominoes events at a local pub as well as being a Scout leader.

Grimsby Crown Court was told he groomed the girl with shopping and cinema trips before kissing her. After a go-karting session, he took her to the hut and had sex with her on the table.

Louise Reevell, prosecuting, said the abuse happened at least five times a week for six or seven months – until Ranyard became jealous.

He then bombarded his victim with texts and even followed her on a family holiday because he was convinced she was seeing someone else.

The girl, by now aged 16, told a friend what had happened and then told Ranyard what she had done.

“She described how he went mad telling her he could go to prison for what he was doing and that she must not say anything because she was under age,” Ms Reevell said.

Ranyard, of East Halton, Lincs, denied the allegations when arrested, claiming he only had sex with the girl once after her 16th birthday. But he was convicted of two offences of multiple indecent assault and one of indecency with a child. He was cleared of three offences of rape and one of assault.

Recorder Peter Makepeace QC said that the girl was, by law, too young to consent to sex. Remanding Ranyard in custody for pre-sentence reports, he told him: “A custodial sentence is absolutely inevitable in this case.”