A PAEDOPHILE has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping a young girl.

Alan Haldane, 63, of Priory Avenue, Hastings, was found guilty of rape and attempted rape of the girl, who was known to him and aged between 6 and 8.

The crimes were committed between 2009 and 2011.

In April 2016 he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for a series of sexual assaults on girls under 13, taking indecent images and voyeurism.

The voyeurism victims were German and French students who were hosted at his Hastings house and his previous home in Amherst Road, Bexhill.

Haldane, a builder, will have to serve at least ten years of his sentence, and will continue to be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

Detective Constable Aydin Misiri, of the East Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit, said: "This victim suffered terribly at the hands of Haldane, who used her natural inexperience and naivety for his own sexual gratification.

"Fortunately she had the courage to eventually disclose this further abuse of her. We investigated and as a result Haldane has now faced justice again, after a trial in which the victim gave clear and compelling evidence.

"This whole case has caused the girl and her family stress beyond belief. I wish the family the best and hope that justice now being served can help alleviate the stress they may have, and that they can now move forward.”

"We will always take such reports seriously, no matter how long ago they are said to have occurred, and will investigate wherever possible."