Cheshire Police constable Ian Naude has been jailed at Liverpool Crown Court for 25 years for 37 offences including the rape and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl.

Naude, 30, was working as a student officer at the time of the assault in October 2017, was previously described during a two-week trial as a “selfish and cruel paedophile” obsessed with taking the virginity of teenage girls.

The court had been told that Naude, of Market Drayton, Shrops, had been acting on an “ever increasing interest in young girls” over the past six or seven years, and joined the force with the intention of meeting vulnerable victims.

Naude, who started working for the police in April 2017, had been named as a suspect in a child grooming case in a neighbouring force in the months leading up to his appointment.

He denied the rape and sexual assault, but pleaded guilty to a further 30 offences, including inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, making indecent photos of children and misconduct in a public office.

As he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with an extended licence of five years, Liverpool Judge Clement Goldstone QC told Naude: “In order to impose your will on a young girl, three weeks past her 13th birthday, and to commit offences of rape and sexual assault against her, you used and abused your position as a Cheshire Police officer, thereby enabling you to satisfy your lust and perversion.”

The parents of the 13-year-old victim said in a previous statement: “We do not know the long-term effects this will have on our daughter. We still cannot explain to her why this horrific and sickening abuse happened to her.

“We worry about how she will cope in the future, particularly when it comes the time for her to have intimate relationships based on trust and love.

“There are no words to even begin to explain the pain, hurt and anger we have felt and are still feeling as a direct result of that vile and despicable man.”