Why on earth is RAF allowing this child rapist to live openly on a forces base alongside families?

RAF chiefs have housed a child rapist on a military family estate despite his guilty pleas to a series of sickening offences.

Air chiefs claim red tape stops them instantly kicking out disgraced serviceman Glenn Poyner. Instead the 35year-old paedophile has been given a property near a primary school at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.

He was apparently moved to the estate from a block housing unattached male colleagues because of threats made against him.

Terrified parents living at the base fear for their youngsters, who had been able to play outside in safety.

Poyner admitted multiple counts of raping a 13-year-old among other child sex crimes at a court hearing earlier this month. Among his victims was the relative of a colleague.

He is not due to be sentenced until

‘He should be behind bars’

August and senior officers have not yet discharged him from the forces.

Families expected him to be kicked out on the day of his guilty pleas but the officers have only just started to fill in the paperwork.

Until all the red tape has been cleared, the plan is for Poyner to be housed at the base, the Mail has learned.

Furious Benson residents accuse RAF chiefs of prioritising the paedophile’s welfare over the safety of their children.

Poyner holds the rank of air specialist – a gender-neutral title recently introduced by top brass. He will be paid by the RAF until the discharge process is completed.

One mother said: ‘I am petrified that this monster will use his last months of freedom to strike again.

‘Where’s the protection? There are children everywhere here, playing happily outside. I can’t rest for a second. He should be behind bars. It is a disgrace the air chiefs still haven’t kicked him out of the RAF.’

At Telford Magistrates’ Court on May 12 Poyner admitted four counts of rape, an indecent assault and other sexual activities with children between 2018 and 2021.

He was stationed at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, a centre for pilot training. He later moved to RAF Benson.

At the hearing, prosecutor Mark Connor told the judge: ‘The defendant has entered guilty pleas which adequately reflect the offending behaviour over a number of years.

‘The prosecution accepts those pleas with regard to the court’s overall sentencing powers.’

Judge Peter Barrie granted Poyner bail ahead of a sentencing hearing scheduled for August 11, when he is expected to be jailed.

The judge also ordered a psychiatric assessment to consider the sex offender’s threat to the public.

While Poyner was given a curfew and must wear a tracking tag, service families insist they should be spared the worry of him living nearby.

His property is being monitored by RAF Police, who have stepped up patrols of the estate following complaints from parents.

RAF Benson, near Wallingford, is a support helicopter main operating base.

The failure by chiefs to manage Poyner’s case – and to prioritise the concerns of service families – is the latest in a string of embarrassing failures by RAF bosses. It follows the shocking treatment of female personnel by pilots, including multiple claims of sexual assault, in the Red Arrows display team.

The head of the RAF Sir Mike Wigston has also faced criticism over a chronic shortage of frontline pilots and a recruitment policy that appeared to discriminate against white male applicants.

The RAF said: ‘We are aware that a service person residing at RAF Benson pleaded guilty to a number of serious sexual offences. The RAF is unable to comment on individual cases, nor offer comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.’