Convicted paedophile raised money for children’s charity Barnardo's

Using the alias Miles Stone on Facebook, Esterson uploaded a selfie of himself in a Barnardo’s lime green t-shirt, with the message: “Just a friendly reminder that I’m taking part in the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 in aid of Barnardo’s on August 2nd.

Barnardo’s has rigorous safeguarding processes in place should a fundraiser be coming into contact with children.

“100 Miles of non-stop cycling from 6:30 in the morning! All donations gratefully accepted!”

On his JustGiving page, he wrote: “I am riding the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 for Barnardo’s because Barnardo’s needs your help.”

A Barnardo's spokeswoman said: “We are looking into the allegations made by the Jewish Chronicle, and thank its team for bringing it to our attention.

"Given the nature of the allegations, we cannot comment further until this is verified.”

The charity said it would reject the money raised by Esterson, if the allegations proved to be true.

The spokeswoman added: "Barnardo’s has rigorous safeguarding processes in place should a fundraiser be coming into contact with children. Challenge event participants rarely meet the children we support."

She made clear that no children who use Barnardo's services were involved in Sunday's event.

Esterson was arrested in July 2009 in Florida, along with convicted sex offender Jerry Wiley.

The British man was found guilty in June 2010 of performing sex acts on three boys under the age of 12 over the previous two years.

Wiley, a registered sex offender, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Esterson, a computer expert, had met him online.

Esterson pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious conduct, a lesser charge that had been reduced from capital sex battery.

The boys - three brothers ranging from five to 11 years old - told investigators that the men, who were friends of their father, had molested them while on trips to Disney World and Sea World.

According to a search-warrant issued by Detective Chris Loyko, of the Lake County Sheriff's office, the children had been threatened to keep them quiet, but one of the boys broke his silence when he returned home.

Esterson admitted that he paid for admission, travel, hotel rooms and other theme-park expenses for the boys and their father, and had taken them shopping.

It is believed he returned to Britain last year after being deported from the US after serving his jail sentence.

He now works at an events company based in Hertfordshire. Esterson was not available to comment when contacted at the firm on Tuesday afternoon.

The company did not respond to requests for comment.

The JC understands that there is no legal obligation for American authorities to have informed counterparts in this country of his conviction. However in Esterson's case, the severity of the abuse passed a tariff which could have triggered an alert being made to British authorities. It is not known if that ever happened.

The Met police confirmed: "When a person is deported from the United States for sexual offences, systems are in place for UK police to be informed."

More than 25,000 people took part in Sunday's ride – which was open to participants over the age of 18.

Listen to reporters Sandy Rashty and Marcus Dysch discussing the story on our podcast