A dad who repeatedly raped a young girl under the age of 13 has been jailed for six years.
Paedophile Michael Robert Woodfine, 26, caused the girl “immense” physical harm and left her emotionally scarred for life, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
She was left “terrified” of further abuse, and was so distressed she was unable to watch as her attacker was sentenced, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The injuries she suffered were too graphic to publish.
Recorder Richard Pratt, QC, said Woodfine, from Huyton,claimed he targeted his victim after seeing her doing gym activity, which aroused him.
The judge said: “That was utterly disgraceful and disgusting. ”
He said the physical harm he caused her at a young age was “immense” and that she was left “terrified” he would rape her again.
Recorder Pratt said: “I have referred to the physical harm she sustained. The emotional harm – astonishing as it may sound – outweighs even that physical harm.
“She says in a moving victim personal statement that you destroyed her life, you had taken away her childhood and she feels she will never be happy again.”
The judge said the victim even spoke of blaming herself, but added: “I emphasise publicly she should feel no sense of blame at all.
“You should carry that sense of blame and shame for the rest of your life for what you did to her.”
The court heard the girl’s mother contacted police earlier this year to say her daughter had been raped by Woodfine.
Charlotte Kenny, prosecuting, said the victim confided in her mum because she was scared that Woodfine might rape her again.
Woodfine then voluntarily attended Huyton police station and told officers that he wanted to hand himself in because of his abuse.
Ms Kenny said when interviewed by the police, he confessed to raping the child and said “she was young and it wasn’t right”.
The girl told police that Woodfine had raped her “a number of times”, but she couldn’t remember on how many occasions.
She described how he had also made her touch his genitals and perform a sex act, despite her trying to push his hand away.
The victim said she also tried to stop him raping her and the attacks left her in pain.
Ms Kenny said Woodfine told police “in his perception of things he didn’t force her, but he said he was very sorry for his actions”.
Woodfine, who is of no fixed address but has also lived in Sefton, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and one count of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
Ms Kenny said the rape charges reflected his “course of conduct” and were consistent with his admission that he had raped her “a few times”.
Stuart Nolan, defending, said Woodfine, who has no previous convictions, was “extremely sorry” for the harm he caused his victim.
He said: “His own shame will follow him for the rest of his life. He bitterly regrets his actions.”
Mr Nolan said Woodfine had shown “courage” to accept responsibility and not put his victim through a trial and what would have been “another living nightmare”.
He said his client was the father of a two-year-old daughter, with whom he would now never have the same relationship.
Recorder Pratt told Woodfine the “only consolation” of his “terrible catalogue of offending” was that “unlike many people in your situation, you accepted responsibility immediately and went to hand yourself in to the police”.