A CHILD rapist who targeted three schoolgirls “from his teens to his 40s” has been jailed for 28 years.

Nicholas Lloyd, 52, from Newport was found guilty following a trial of multiple offences against his young victims that had started in the 1980s.

One of them was raped when she was just eight years old.

John Ryan, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court: “This was a campaign of sexual abuse against three children over a prolonged period of time.”

MORE NEWS: Men admit growing drugs at 'large-scale cannabis factory' inside music venue

He read out moving victim impact statements written by the three.

One described paedophile Lloyd leaving her with “devastating wounds”.

Another said: “He took away my childhood and he made me want to end my life.

“I am now scared of being left alone.

“He’s left me with the fear that all men are the same.

“I don’t trust people.”

The third victim revealed: “It has affected my mental health, relationships and well-being.

“I've suffered from anxiety and depression, on and off, for as long as I can remember.”

Harry Baker, representing Lloyd, said there was nothing he could offer in mitigation following the jury’s verdicts.

Judge Catherine Richards told the defendant: “You committed these offences from your teens to your 40s.”

She added: “One of your victims was subjected to years of sexual violence.”

Lloyd, of Sandpiper Way, Duffryn, had denied all the offences.

He was jailed for 23 years with an extended licence period of five years.

The total sentence was 28 years and the defendant was told he would serve two-thirds of the custodial term of 23 years before he was eligible for parole.

Lloyd will have to register as a sex offender for life and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

The court heard how one of his victims had first made a complaint to the police in 2000 but the defendant had “lied and denied it”.

Judge Richards told Lloyd: “The impact on her of the abuse and the lack of justice she has had over the years is clear from her victim personal statement.”

“She has had to relive these events all over again.”