Man, 29, jailed for raping 10-year-old girl in Milton Keynes

The 29-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual abuse against the girl, who was his ex-partner's daughter.

The young victim had lived with the stepfather, whom she called dad, and her mother in a house in Milton Keynes.

They continued to share the house even after the couple's relationship broke down, Aylesbury Crown Court heard.

During the trial a vital piece of evidence had been the victim's diary pages, in which she had written, with a childish spelling mistake: "Dad raps me."

In a later entry she wrote: "Dad did it again."

Sentencing the man, Judge Thomas Rochford said: "Those are heartbreaking cries for help. She confessed in her diary. A 10-year-old's diary contains the kind of trivia which seems unimportant to adults, but in a trial it is important evidence.

"It is very clear that what you did to her had a substantial effect upon her. That is perhaps unsurprising given what you did to her on those three occasions."

Prosecutors via Skype said the abuse had begun when the stepfather sat the victim down on his lap and had continued even when the girl's sister had walked into the living room and witnessed what was taking place at the family home during the Christmas holidays in 2016.

In a victim impact statement, the girl said she suffers panic and anxiety attacks when she is in a room where she feels people can see her and she will use her hands to cover her face in an attempt to hide.

The stepdad had no previous convictions, the court heard, except for a caution for possessing cannabis, which he was found with when he was arrested.

Defending him, Nadia Chbat said: "He has lost his home, he has lost his ability to work in any meaningful way as a result of this conviction. In addition, he has lost any meaningful contact with his own children. That will be severely limited in the future once he has completed his sentence."

Judge Rochford told the stepfather he had committed an abuse of trust as he had been "for all intents and purposes" the girl's father.

The judge sentenced him to 15 and a half years in prison, including one year which would be an extended licence period.

He also made him subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered him to be signed onto the Sex Offender's Register for life.