AN Army veteran who served in Northern Ireland and Kosovo was jailed for 15 years for carrying out a series of sex attacks on a girl.

The consequences of the crimes committed by 34-year-old Kevin Eacott on his victim were "catastrophic", Judge David Wynn Morgan told Cardiff crown court.

Eacott, of Elgar Close, Blackwood, had been found guilty at the court by a majority verdict of two charges of rape, three of indecency and one of attempted rape.

The judge ordered that on his release Eacott, a fibre optics engineer, register as a sex offender for life and also ordered him never to work with children.

He told Eacott the victim was a child when he began to abuse her and some of the things he did to her were "depraved".

He said that Eacott was not entitled to any credit because he had pleaded not guilty. The victim had been subjected to cross examination and accused of lying.

The judge said: "I acknowledge you served your country and are effectively of good character."

But, he added only a significant custodial sentence could be justified. Eacott's counsel Ray Tunney said: "Nothing I say is designed to go behind the verdict of the jury."

The incidents of rape, he said, lasted "moments and were of a limited nature".

Eacott, he added, served in the Army for 16 years and was discharged with an exemplary character.

He saw active service, he added, in Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone and Kosovo before leaving in 1999.

After the hearing, the victim's mother said: "I think he could have done with more years in prison. I don't think he should be let out."

She said her daughter, who is now in her teens, was very angry at what happened and was receiving counselling.

The mother added:"I'm praying my daughter will be able to live a normal life now."

Detective Inspector Peter Keen, from Blackwood police station, said: "The sentence very much reflects the serious nature of these crimes."