A stepfather who admitted to sexually abusing his stepdaughter more than two decades ago has been given an effective prison term of just over six and a half years, after an 18-year starting sentence was reduced for mitigating factors.

The man, whose name was withheld to protect the complainant’s identity, pleaded guilty to a charge of buggery committed between June 1 and June 30, 2001. The court heard that the child was subjected to multiple forms of penetration.

Delivering sentence in the No. 5A Supreme Court, Justice Christopher Birch said the man’s conduct was “systematic, degrading and humiliating”, stressing that he had abandoned his fundamental duty to protect the child in his care.