EVIL Roy Whiting was jailed for life in 2001 for the brutal murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne.

But why was Whiting – who already had a conviction for abducting and indecently assaulting a little girl – free to kidnap and kill Sarah? We take a look at the case before tonight's ITV documentary.

Who is Roy Whiting?

Paedophile Whiting, 59, is serving 40 years for murdering eight-year-old Sarah Payne in 2000.

He was convicted of both charges by a jury at Lewes Crown Court, after a trial lasting almost four weeks.

Whiting, formerly of Littlehampton, West Sussex, denied having anything to do with her death.

But Mr Justice Curtis said Whiting was "an evil man" and "a cunning and glib liar".

He said: "You are and will remain an absolute menace to any little girl.

"You are every parent's and grandparent's nightmare come true.

"I recommend you be kept in prison for the rest of your life so that no further child can be added to the list of your victims."

Where is Sarah Payne's murderer Roy Whiting now?

Roy Whiting stays in his cell at Wakefield Prison most of the time for fear of attack by other lags.

The former mechanic has been slashed with a razor and stabbed with a sharpened toilet brush.

In early 2017, he was battered with a flask by another prisoner.

On November 8, 2018 he was battered and left for dead by two fellow murderers.

The paedophile reportedly spends his life sentence building intricate models with matchsticks in his cell.

The monster has been nicknamed Matchstick Man after making replicas of St Paul’s Cathedral, Big Ben and a Lancaster bomber.

In 2010 the BBC reported how Whiting had his 50-year jail term reduced by 10 years by a High Court judge.

When was he attacked?

On November 8, 2018, it was reported that Whiting was left drenched in blood after being savagely attacked in his cell by two other convicted murderers.

Paedophile Whiting was stabbed “repeatedly” with makeshift blades and left for dead before alert officers at top security Wakefield prison, West Yorks, intervened.

He was rushed by ambulance to hospital in nearby Leeds in a “critical” condition with multiple stab wounds to his upper body – and medics at first feared he would not survive the night.

And after being carefully monitored, the killer was transferred back on Wakefield’s healthcare wing the following day.

Why is he planning to sue prison chiefs?

Roy Whiting has reportedly vowed to sue prison chiefs after being attacked four times while locked up.

The child killer is alleged to want £10,000 after claiming he hasn't been protected from fellow lags.

He has moaned he is a "dead man walking", the Daily Star reports.

A source said: “Whiting is sensing some cash so he can sit in his cell all day and not work.

“He reckons the fact that he has to leave his cell each day to go to work makes him a target and says it is only a matter of time before he’s done in properly.

“He says the prison has failed to look after him and is going to go for £10,000 and then he’ll have enough cash in his prison bank account not to work.

“He claims to be a dead man walking and his fearful for his life.”

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What other convictions does he have?

In 1995 he abducted and sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl. He admitted charges of abduction and indecent assault, and was sentenced to four years in prison.

At Sarah’s trial the judge said a psychiatrist who saw Whiting after his 1995 attack warned he was a high risk repeat offender.

He said Sarah's tragic and appalling murder had proved the psychiatrist right.

Sarah’s devastated parents called on the government to change the law to ensure it does not happen again.

In the wake of Sarah’s death, mum Sara threw herself into campaigning for Sarah’s Law, which allows anyone to formally ask police if someone with access to a child has a record for child sexual offences.

Sara told how letters she wrote to her daughter helped her cope after years of anguish.

• Sarah Payne: The Untold Story airs on ITV at 9pm on July 4

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