Man who raped girl 225 times jailed for 16 years

Judge Andrew Menary told: "You repeatedly raped almost week in, week out that young girl, on too many occasions to count.  What you have done to this girl is to essentially ruin her life up to this point. Who knows whether or not she will ever recover from the psychological ordeal and impact you have inflicted upon her."

"You accept you have an unhealthy and abiding sexual interest in young children. I have no doubt at all that you pose a high risk of serious harm to children and will continue to do for an indefinite and unquantifiable period in the future.", he added.

The victim confided in an adult that the rapes had been happening ‘for as long as she could remember’, Liverpool Crown Court was told.

The girl said that he would bribe her ice cream and other treats while telling her that nobody would believe her if she told them.

Prosecutor Dan Travers said: ‘He would ask her to have sex and when she refused he would keep asking. He would eventually get angry and just do it anyway.’

He pleaded guilty to eight counts of rape and one count of attempted rape but denied raping the girl no fewer than 60 times before she turned five.

Those charges were ordered to lie on file.

He will spend two thirds of his sentence in prison before being considered for parole and will have to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.