'Monster' jailed after raping child for eight years

Christopher Rudd has been jailed for 20 years for repeatedly raping a young girl

A man who repeatedly raped a child over eight years has been jailed for 20 years.

Christopher Rudd, 34, of Fenland Road, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, was sentenced at King's Lynn Crown Court on Monday after being found guilty of 12 counts of rape, two offences of causing actual bodily harm and a charge of causing fear of violence.

The offences took place in the King's Lynn area and came to light in January 2025 when the girl told her family. The court heard that in addition to the sexual assaults, the child had been choked, kicked, punched and had her fingers broken by Rudd.

In a statement read in court, the victim said: "I'm finally free, and I have my whole future ahead of me."

She also said: "I have been hurting every day, for as long as I can remember, and there's 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'll never get my childhood back, even if I tried.

"Despite all this, despite everything I've gone through and endured, I am in a better place now.

"I finally don't 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."

'Long road'

The victim's mother, who called Rudd a "monster" in her own statement, 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" whose offending was "exceptional in its gravity".

Following the case, Det Con Stuart Sansbury, from Norfolk Police, praised the victim for her "steadfast courage" and said it was a "testament to her that justice has been served".

"She has experienced a terrible amount of trauma, and I truly hope today's result helps her begin a new chapter in her life, where she can be safe and thrive," he said.

"I also hope that today's sentence sends a clear message to others who harm, or seek to harm, children and vulnerable people."

He added Norfolk Police took abuse reports "extremely seriously" and urged anyone who had been a victim or had knowledge of abuse to come forward "no matter when it happened".

Rudd was given a further four years on licence. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for life and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and an indefinite retraining order.