A Romford paedophile who raped and sexually assaulted a young girl for almost a decade has been jailed.

Adrian Morbey, of Ashbourne Road, Romford, will also be on the sex offenders’ register for life after his acts.

Snaresbrook Crown Curot heard that the 72-year-old raped and sexually assaulted a child from when she was seven-years-old until she was 15-years-old between 1989 and 1996.

When she was on her way home from school, he would intercept and take her to various locations.

He would then sexually assault and rape her.

Morbey would also shower her with over-the-top gifts and money.

The mother reported this to police in 2018, and the victim confirmed this to officers after she was asked.

When the allegations were put to Morbey, he replied “nah, not a chance.”

He later added that he “never behaved inappropriately with her at all” and said he was “gobsmacked” about the allegations.

Detectives then prepared a file for the Crown Prosecution Service to secure charges.

Morbey was found guilty on August 21 this year of four counts of indecent assault on a child, two counts of indecency with a child and one count of raping a child aged under 16.

He was sentenced on Wednesday (November 27) to a total of 15 years’ imprisonment, with an extended licence of one year.

Detective Sergeant Charlie Yexley, from the East Area’s Public Protection team, said: “I would like to commend the victim for her bravery in reporting Morbey to us, and for having to re-live her horrific ordeal while providing two extremely detailed video recorded interviews to help ensure Morbey was brought to justice for his heinous crimes.

“The victim had understandably blocked out a lot of what Morbey had done to her and so it was extremely painful for her to talk about this nightmare in such detail. I hope him being behind bars gives her a little bit of closure.

“I would also like to commend the officer in the case DC Jessica Stephens for working so tirelessly to secure justice for the victim. Sexual assault and rape cases are never simple to investigate, never mind ones dating back over 30 years.

“However, this did not deter DC Stephens who was determined to see Morbey get his day in court – where the jury convicted him due to the overwhelming evidence presented.”