A PAEDOPHILE has been sentenced to eight years in prison for ‘shocking’ and ‘shameful’ sexual abuse of a young girl.

Jeffery David West, 42, admitted two charges of rape and three charges of sexually assaulting the same victim, just before or shortly after her fifth birthday.

At his sentencing hearing at Dorchester Crown Court, Judge Christopher Harvey Clark told the defendant the offences, which took place between January and May of 2008, were ‘truly dreadful’.

Angela England said the victim, who is now seven years old, made the first allegation of sexual assault earlier this year when she reported it to social services.

West, formerly of Priory Lane, Bridport, admitted the offence in police interview, claiming it was a ‘moment of madness’.

However, the girl then made further admissions to her mother, claiming West had raped her twice and had sexually assaulted her on two occasions.

When he was interviewed again West admitted the further allegations, saying he believed they took place shortly after the girl’s fifth birthday and involved three separate incidents.

Miss England said: “He had not been true and frank in his first interview, it was clearly more than a moment of madness.”

Tim Shorter, mitigating, told the court that in police interview West had revealed he had experienced suicidal thoughts as a way of making the allegations ‘go away’.

He added: “It is clear in discussion with him he is still struggling to find out what went wrong in his mind that caused him to act in this way.”

Judge Harvey Clark imposed a total sentence of eight years in prison for the five offences and told West he would serve at least half of that before being released on licence.

He also imposed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order that prohibits West from living in the same house as a child under 18 or from having any unsupervised contact with a child under 18.

Judge Harvey Clark told the defendant: “It is difficult to put into words the events of which you are guilty. You behaved shamefully.”

The judge added: “This happened, I am told, on three occasions over a significant period of some months.

“That does not suggest to me that it was a moment of madness.

“As everybody recognises, it was truly dreadful.”