A paedophile branded a "sexual monster" by a judge has been jailed for 25 years for raping and sexually abusing a young girl.

Peter Rowland-Hinton, 37, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court for sentence via prison video link after previously pleading guilty to 34 offences, including 20 counts of rape of a child under 13.

Judge Emma Peters told Rowland-Hinton, of Columbyne Close, Stowupland, near Stowmarket, he will serve at least 16 years of his sentence behind bars before he is considered for parole.

The offences, which spanned seven years, came to light when the victim made disclosures last year, Claire Matthews, prosecuting, told the court.

Rowland-Hinton was arrested in October last year but offered no comment to officers in interview, the court heard.

Following his arrest, a laptop was seized and was later found to contain indecent images of children, Ms Matthews told the court.

In total, 66 images of the most serious kind - category A - were discovered as well as 50 category B images and 59 graded as category C.

Rowland-Hinton was further interviewed in January 2021, and provided two prepared statements to police.

The court heard that Rowland-Hinton admitted having a sexual attraction to young females.

Ms Matthews read a personal statement from the victim to the court, which detailed how the offending had impacted her life.

The court heard that Rowland-Hinton had no relevant previous convictions.

Joanne Eley, mitigating, said Rowland-Hinton has mental health difficulties and suffers from depression.

Ms Eley said Rowland-Hinton regretted his actions and had acknowledged that he is a paedophile, with a sexual interest in young girls.

Rowland-Hinton previously admitted 20 charges of rape of a child, 11 further sexual assault charges, and three counts of making indecent images in February this year.

At his sentence on Wednesday, Judge Peters told Rowland-Hinton the scale of his sexual offending was "astonishing and terrifying in equal measure".

The judge said his offending had had "a very significant impact" on the victim before telling him: "Peter Rowland-Hinton you, literally, are a sexual monster".

Judge Peters jailed Rowland-Hinton for 25 years, with an extended licence period of eight years after he was found to be dangerous and posed a "significant risk" to the public.

Rowland-Hinton will serve two thirds of his custodial sentence behind bars, meaning he will spend at least 16 years and eight months in prison before he is considered for parole.