A 25-YEAR-old Blackburn man has been jailed for eight years for raping a seven-year-old girl.

Gareth Hodgeon, of Whalley New Road, Blackburn, was convicted of raping and indecently assaulting the girl nine years ago.

Hodgeon was aged just 16 at the time of the offences, which took place in Preston.

The victim is also from the Preston area.

He has now been disqualified for life from working with children under 16 and given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order which stops any unsupervised contact with children.

Inspector Jonathan Holmes from Preston Public Protection Unit said: “I am extremely pleased with the sentence passed today and hope it provides some closure to the victim and her family.

“I hope this case sends out a clear message to offenders who think they can escape justice – you will be caught and brought before the courts for punishment.

“I also hope it gives hope to victims who believe that they will not be listened to and that this encourages them to come forward and make their complaint, however long ago the offences took place.”