Paedo jailed for raping a four-year-old girl and telling her ‘nobody will believe you’ if she told them about his abuse
The 43-year-old then made the girl promise not to tell anyone "their secret"
A PAEDO who raped and sexually abused a defenceless four-year-old girl as her mother slept nearby has been jailed for 13 years.
Homeless Mark Mansell committed his sickening crimes in July 1998 while the girl and her mother stayed at the home of a mutual friend in Mitcham, south west London.
Over 16 days Mansell would sneak into the victim’s bedroom and would rape her and get her to perform sexual acts.
The 43-year-old then made the girl promise not to tell anyone "their secret" and said nobody would believe her if she told them.
The girl was at a wedding in 1998 when she told her mother she did not want to return to the address and when asked why told her mother and grandmother she did not like the way Mansell "tickled her tummy".
The way she said it made her mother and grandmother suspect something more sinister had occurred, which resulted in the mother and her partner at the time attacking Mansell.
The police were called but Mansell did not wish to pursue charges and the matter was dropped.
In 2001, Mansell was interviewed under caution about sexually abusing the victim in 1998. He denied the crime and said he was "devastated" to be accused of such a thing.
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Police felt that they were unable to pursue the matter any further due to insufficient evidence.
Then, in 2013, the victim reported the incident to police and Mansell, who was living on the streets in Southampton, was arrested on 21 April 2015 by Hampshire Police.
Mansell denied ever knowing the victim and threatened the interviewing officer with violence when told about the allegations being made against him.
On Friday he was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court to 13 years imprisonment and placed on the sex offenders register.
In March Mansell was found guilty of rape of a girl under the age of 13, attempted rape, indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 and gross indecency with a girl under 14 at an after an 11-day trial.
DC Aaron Vardy, from the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said: "I would like to pay tribute to the victim and her family for their bravery and courage.
"They never gave up on their quest for justice. She showed true bravery as she was forced to re-live some of the darkest moments from her life to ensure Mansell paid for his horrific crimes.
"Mansell is a dangerous sexual predator who abused his position of trust to physically and mentally torture a vulnerable defenceless child.
"I fear that there may be further victims of Mansell still out there suffering in silence. I would urge them to come forward and speak to their local police force.
"They will be treated with respect and their allegations will be investigated in the strictest confidence in a caring and professional manner."