A REMORSELESS paedophile responsible for ‘horrific’ sexual assaults on a pre-schooler will remain under probation supervision well into his 80s.

George Smith, 66, was jailed for 13 years at Winchester Crown Court in the spring after a jury found him guilty of raping the girl and subjecting her other sexual assaults – ‘bribing’ her with sweets.

Locking him up in May, Judge Andrew Barnett described the married landscape gardener as ‘warped’ and his actions ‘horrific’.

On Thursday, lawyers for the Odiham man tried to convince the Court of Appeal that the decision by Judge Andrew Barnett to impose an ‘extended’ licence period of four years was unjust.

Adrienne Knight, for Smith, told the panel of three judges at London’s Royal Courts of Justice that the extended period under the supervision of the probation service was unnecessary given the other court orders, including a restraining order banning contact with the victim.

Smith would be 82 years old by the time his extended sentence ran out and he would no longer be monitored by the probation service, she said.

Her client suffered from ‘stress’, had a high blood pressure and high cholesterol, she added.

READ MORE: 'Deviant and perverted': Man, 65, who sexually abused young girl jailed for 13 years

As a result of Judge Barnett’s decision to find Smith ‘dangerous’ and impose an extended sentence, he would serve at least eight years in custody and was not automatically eligible for release but would instead have to apply for parole.

Ms Knight said it might appear ‘trivial’ but added it ‘matters a great deal to Mr Smith’.

But the court threw out the paedophile’s appeal.

Giving the panel’s judgement, Mr Justice Griffiths quoted from a damning pre-sentence report that found Smith ‘showed no remorse and had no insight’.

“It referred to a ‘quite exceptional personal callousness and sexual deviance’ on the appellant’s part,” the appeals court justice said. Smith was deemed to pose a high risk of causing serious harm to children.

The Court of Appeal said there was ‘no error in principle or judgement’ in the judge’s decision to impose an extended sentence.

Mr Justice Griffiths added: “The facts of the offending were of grave concern and the refusal to admit guilt and the lack of remorse made it less likely that there would be rehabilitation even through the programmes which are available to sexual offenders in prison.”

Smith’s appeal was dismissed and the original sentence was upheld.

In May, the mother of Smith’s victim said the rapist had taken away the girl’s innocence. “Her braveness in speaking out against George means that that monster will no longer be able to hurt any more girls,” she added.