A BLACKBURN man has been jailed for more than 10 years after he admitted raping a child.
Paolo Sousa, of Lytham Road, appeared at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday and was sentenced by Her Honour Judge Beverly Lunt for three offences.
All of the offences related to raping and having sexual intercourse with a girl as young as 13.
The abuse, it was heard, was carried out over a three-year period.
The 43-year-old was originally supposed to be dealt with on Tuesday morning, but his hearing was pushed back a day after Judge Lunt deemed it essential that he should appear at court in person.
Earlier this year a missing persons appeal was launched for Sousa by the police.
He was later found to be in the Lake District.
Judge Lunt jailed Sousa for 13 years and made him the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.
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