Rapist doctor Robert Wells was employed by police even though a neighbouring force had evidence he was a paedophile.

Wells, jailed for 15 years yesterday for indecently assaulting two 11-year-olds, had walked free from court on similar charges nine years ago.

A loophole in vetting procedures meant Hampshire Police knew nothing of the earlier charges when they used him as forensic medical examiner in October 2001.

Similar failings in the vetting system allowed Soham murderer Ian Huntley to take a job as a school caretaker despite being the subject of previous police investigations.

Sussex Police had a file of "soft intelligence" on the Brighton-based doctor but they were not consulted by the neighbouring police force.

Nor did the force hear from Primecare, which had been employing Wells since 1979.

The firm, which changed its name from Healthcall in 2001, is contracted to provide Hampshire Police with medical examiners.

Today, the mother of one of Wells's two alleged victims ten years ago told The Argus of her disgust he had been allowed to take up such a position of trust.

It was alleged he indecently assaulted both girls after being called to examine them in their homes. The trials collapsed in October 1995 and he was acquitted.

Colin Smith, assistant chief constable for Hampshire Police, yesterday admitted he would not have employed Wells had he known of the 1995 cases.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "We had intelligence records on Robert Wells. These records were available to any appropriate requests for a vetting check."

He said they had not received any requests from Hampshire.

The General Medical Council, which suspended Wells after his latest arrest on February 27, 2003, had not objected to him continuing as a doctor after his earlier acquittals.

Hampshire officers only discovered Wells's past upon his arrest. He had been looking after two sisters, aged five and 11, at his flat in Southampton where he spiked their Angel Delight pudding with sedatives and indecently assaulted the elder girl.

The girls' mother became concerned by the 11-year-old's "woozy" and "spaced-out" appearance when he returned them the following day.

Tests at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton revealed traces of Temazepam in her system and police in Sussex and Hampshire were alerted.

When Hampshire first employed Wells, Home Office guidelines meant the force only had to check local intelligence, the Police National Computer and anti-terrorism concerns.

Officers did not have to consult other police forces and because Wells had not been convicted of any crime, there were no records on the Police National Computer.

Primecare was duty-bound to check he was suitable to work with children but at the time only local authorities were able to approach the police for such information.

The creation of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) in 2002 demanded "enhanced vetting" for all sub-contracted staff with access to children and vulnerable adults.

This would include local intelligence checks in all of the force areas in which the person had lived in the previous five years.

Mr Smith said: "He wasn't a convicted individual when we employed him and was still registered and supported by the GMC but had I known of the acquittal earlier, I'd have told Primecare I didn't have confidence in him working here.

"It would be wrong to say any system is foolproof but I'd like to say that now, with the CRB and the processes now in place, it is very unlikely there will be another Robert Wells."

Hampshire Police believe he was deployed 3,731 times in his 16 months with the force and investigated how many times he would have been left alone with girls under 16.

They spoke to 31 girls, who all said he had not behaved inappropriately with them.

A spokeswoman for Primecare insisted it had carried out all the checks it feasibly could before supplying him to Hampshire.

She added: "We would like to express our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families. We deplore the flagrant betrayal of trust."

A GMC spokeswoman said it had requested information from Sussex Police following the 1995 trials, concluding "there was no basis for action".

Hampshire Police said they would investigate any further complaints about Wells.

The Crown Prosecution Service is reviewing the cases he worked on as a forensic medical examiner for any evidence he may have tampered with evidence.

Wells was found unanimously guilty by a jury of two charges of raping an 11-year-old and three of indecently assaulting the same girl. He was convicted of taking an indecent photograph of a child as well as administering drugs to a second 11-year-old and a girl of five.

He was also convicted of indecently assaulting the second 11-year-old. He was cleared of one charge of raping the first 11-year-old and another of indecently assaulting the five-year-old.