A man who repeatedly raped a child over eight years has been jailed for twenty years.
Christopher Rudd, aged thirty four, of Fenland Road, Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, was sentenced at Kings Lynn Crown Court on Monday after being found guilty of twelve counts of rape, two offences of causing actual bodily harm and one charge of causing fear of violence.
The offences took place in the Kings Lynn area and were uncovered in January 2025 when the girl disclosed the abuse to her family. The court heard that alongside the repeated sexual assaults, the child had been choked, kicked, punched and had her fingers broken by Rudd.
In a statement read to the court, the victim said: “I am finally free, and I have my whole future ahead of me.” She added: “I have been hurting every day for as long as I can remember, and there is no way to stop the hurting or to feel anything else.
“[Rudd] abused me in so many ways. No amount of healing will ever change that, and I will never get my childhood back, even if I tried.
“Despite all this, despite everything I have gone through and endured, I am in a better place now.
“I finally do not have to live in fear, and I finally have the freedom to truly be myself and figure out who I really am behind all the trauma.”
The victims mother described Rudd as a “monster” in her own statement. She said: “I have asked myself over and over how to help my daughter recover from something no child should ever endure.
“I am doing everything I can to help my daughter heal. But healing is a long road, and I know I will be walking it with her for years to come.”
During sentencing, Recorder Rouse KC said Rudd was a “manipulative predator void of empathy” and that his offending was “exceptional in its gravity”.
Following the case, Detective Constable Stuart Sansbury of Norfolk Police praised the victim for her “steadfast courage”, saying it was a “testament to her that justice has been served”.
“She has experienced a terrible amount of trauma, and I truly hope todays result helps her begin a new chapter, one in which she can be safe and thrive,” he said.
“I also hope the sentence sends a clear message to anyone who harms, or seeks to harm, children and vulnerable people.”
He said Norfolk Police take reports of abuse “extremely seriously” and urged anyone affected, or anyone with information, to come forward “no matter when it happened”.
Rudd will serve an additional four years on licence after his prison term. He has been placed on the sex offenders register for life and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and an indefinite restraining order.
