A former prison officer at Wayland jail, near Watton, has been jailed for 13 years and placed on the sex offender's register for life after he was convicted of raping a 12 year-old girl.

Simon Fleet, 34, was also convicted of sex assault on the girl who Norwich Crown Court heard has been left traumatised by what happened.

Fleet, formerly of Washington Drive, Carbrooke, had denied the offences but was convicted following a trial. The jury also cleared him of four other rape charges and two sex assaults on the same girl.

Richard Potts, prosecuting, read out an impact statement from the victim in which she said how she now suffers nightmares and is having to have counselling because of what happened. She said that Fleet had 'destroyed her life.'

Jailing him and banning him from ever working with children, Recorder Katharine Moore said: 'It was on any view an extremely grave piece of offending behaviour. No sentence I impose can undo the harm you have done.'

She said the effect had been 'devastating.' on the victim.

She also made Fleet subject to a sexual offences prevention order under which he must not have unsupervised contact with girls under 16.

Recorder Moore added: 'I accept a sentence of imprisonment will weigh particularly heavy on you.'

John Morgans for Fleet said that he was a hard working family man.

He said the girl had been a few weeks off her 13th birthday when the offence happened.