A Melksham man who sexually abused a young girl in what a judge called a “campaign of rape” has been sentenced to a lengthy jail term.
Luke Simpson, 33, repeatedly raped his victim – aged 11 and 12 at the time – between January 2019 and October 2020.
Sentencing him to 18 years imprisonment, Judge Jason Taylor QC said he assaulted the child “too many times to count”.
He told Simpson he would serve at least two-thirds of his jail term before being released on license for five years.
Judge Jason Taylor said: “Your brazen offending coupled with the risks that you were prepared to take to gratify your sexual desires is deeply concerning.
“It was cunning, it was planned, it was determined, it was predatory, it was manipulative.
“When seen in conjunction with your distorted and twisted view of her initiating or consenting to behaviour it reveals a troubling lack of empathy and insight which undoubtedly in my view heightens the risk to other young girls.”
