Description A man has been jailed for raping a child over a period of time between 2006 and 2008. Paul Hunt – 35 (19.09.87) of no fixed abode was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment following a hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday, 29 June. He was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Hunt had been found guilty of rape and sexual assault of the girl, who was under the age of 13 at the time of the offences, at the conclusion of a trial on Friday, 16 June. The court heard how Hunt knew the girl and groomed her over the course of several visits to the house he was staying at in Stratford at the time. On various occasions between 2006 and 2008, Hunt raped and sexually assaulted the girl. He told her that no one would believe her if she told anyone about the abuse. However, in 2018 the girl, by now an adult, confronted Hunt and reported the matters to police. Officers undertook an investigation which involved gathering evidence and witness statements from over ten years previously.  Hunt was arrested but refused to answer questions during his police interview. However, he was charged and subsequently found guilty at court. DI Jeremy McDermott of the North East Command Unit said: “Hunt exploited and took advantage of a vulnerable child on numerous occasions. He told the victim that she would not be believed. Despite this, she showed commendable bravery in coming forward and providing such strong evidence to police and at the trial. I hope that the sentence handed down will bring her a small measure of comfort and a sense that justice has been done. "I would like to encourage anyone who has been a victim of a sexual crime to come forward and speak to police; they will be supported and their voice too can be heard.”