A former Colchester army cook who raped a teenager he met through an army friend more than four decades ago has been jailed for nine years and six months.
Before Ipswich Crown Court on Friday was Norman Maddox, 64, formerly of Colchester, but now living in Manchester.
He was found guilty after a trial of four offences including rape and assault causing actual bodily harm.
He was cleared of a number of other offences.
Sentencing Maddox, Judge Martyn Levett said the offences were committed between 40 and 45 years ago when the victim of the rape was 14 and he was 20.
"You took advantage of her age, naivety and learning difficulties," said the judge.
He said Maddox, who described himself as "more like Norman Wisdom than Norman Maddox", had used violence and had been drunk at the time of the rape.
He said that Maddox, who continued to deny the offences, was "in denial".
In addition to being jailed, Maddox was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life.
Robert Lassey for Maddox said his client had served in Northern Ireland and Germany in the 1970s and 1980s and had been discharged from the army in 1984.
Mr Lassey said Maddox had first been spoken to by the police about the allegations five years ago and court proceedings had been ongoing for the last couple of years, during which he had been on bail.
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