Posed photo of a young girl hiding her face. Photo: istockphoto.com
Growing up, she wondered what her father was like.
So the schoolgirl, then 13, was thrilled when she eventually tracked him down through "friends and Facebook" postings. He was living in South Yorkshire, England.
But it turned out the teen was better off not making contact - as she was repeatedly forced to have sex with him "on a regular basis" over a six-month period, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
Lived with father
After meeting her father for the first time, she was invited to stay longer. Her mother eventually allowed her to live with the 41-year-old, newspaper Daily Mail reported.
Initially she slept on the sofa but when her father split up with his girlfriend he "turned his attention" to his daughter, prosecutor Timothy Capstick said.
He said she could sleep in his bed and he would sleep on the sofa.
But during the night, he crept into the bed and started having sex with his own daughter. She didn't resist because "I had only just met him".
Mr Capstick said:
"She said she felt like hitting out but couldn't as he was her father... He would have sex with her on a regular basis, every other day."
He also encouraged the girl to drink alcohol before having sex with her. She eventually left the house and stopped living there.
'He feels sick'
The teenager, who is now 18 and cannot be identified, first told a social worker what had happened then went to the police last year.
Police officers found old text messages on the man's phone, which suggested he had been having a sexual relationship with his daughter.
When arrested, he initially denied having any contact with the girl and said another family member must have used the phone.
The man later admitted one offence of sexually assaulting his daughter and 14 offences of sexual activity with her when she was 13.
The defence lawyer said the father now accepted having a regular sexual relationship with his daughter and knew it was wrong:
"He is very sorry and deeply regrets it and wishes he could turn the clock back. He feels sick when he thinks about it."
The court was told the man had a drink problem, suffered from depression and his wife was worried he was a suicide risk.
He had been drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels and four to eight cans of cider a day which had affected his physical and mental health.
On Sex Offenders' Register
The judge jailed the man for six years.
"Over a period of six months you grossly abused your position of trust: She was 13 and you were 41 and you took advantage of her.
"When interviewed, the girl said she let you do it because you were her father.
"She did not want to lose what she felt she had gained and she felt (you) had played with her emotions." -- Judge Simon Lawler to the father
The man is already on the Sex Offenders' Register.
He was also subjected to a Sex Offenders' Prevention Order and barred from working with children.
Source: Daily Mail, istockphoto.com
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