A convicted paedophile who sexually abused a vulnerable boy in his care has had his sentence reduced on appeal.

Philip Collins, 70, spanked the child and touched his penis on several occasions at Malvern House children's home in Kenley between 1968 and 1976.

The abuse is understood to have begun when the victim, who is now in his fifties, was seven years old and moved into the home after he was abandoned by his parents.

Collins, of Worcester Road, Sutton, was jailed for five years last November after a trial at Croydon Crown Court.

RELATED: Phillip Collins found guilty of sexually abusing boy in 1970s at children's home in Kenley, Croydon

But following a hearing at the Court of Appeal earlier this month, three of the country's top judges ruled the sentence should be reduced to four years.

During this trial, the jury heard how Collins had touched the boy's penis while he was supervising him in the bath over a prolonged period of abuse the victim later described as "a classic case of being groomed".

The victim told Croydon Crown Court: "We all liked him. He was a nice guy and fun to be around.

"He was boisterous and played rough and tumble games with the younger males."

Prosecutor Tim Forster told the jury: "He expected love and care from them [care home staff] but he says that Phil Collins corrupted that care."

It also emerged during the trial that Mr Collins had pleaded guilty in the 1980s to indecently assaulting three boys at two Kingston care homes.

He was fined £450 for the offences, committed between 1974 and 1977.

In November the jury found Collins guilty of five counts of indecent assault, although cleared him of attempted buggery and other counts of indecent assault against the same victim.

Collins, who met his wife Doreen while he worked at the home, had denied abusing the boy and told the court that he had never spent time alone with him.

He said: "It would have been more than a little unusual."

Asked by his lawyer if he had touched the boy's genitals while bathing him, Mr Collins said: "No. Absolutely not. It did not happen.

"The bathroom door would not have been closed because it would have invited a member of staff to open it to see what was going on inside."

The judges presiding over Collins's appeal hearing on June 10 were Lord Justice Patrick Elias, Justice Robert Jay, and the Recorder of Bristol.

During the trial, Mr Forster explained to jurors why the victim had taken to so long to come forward with the allegations, which were first reported to the authorities in 2013.

He said: "It's a fact that many children who are sexually abused don’t tell anyone at the time and for years after.

"It's especially difficult for a young person remembering their childhood to remember dates as an adult can. It is what actually happened that is most important, rather than dates.

"You're more likely to remember the bad things than the good. It must have seemed to him every day that Mr Collins came creeping into his bedroom."

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