A paedophile who made his victim’s life a “living nightmare” has been jailed for 16 years.

Matthew Toyer, 46 of Haven Way in Abergavenny, was found guilty at Newport Crown Court of two counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by penetration and one of causing/inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Toyer, who had been a reserve firefighter in Abergavenny, committed the offences in the Brecon area this decade.

The court heard how Toyer had told his victim she was “not allowed to tell anyone” about the abuse.

In a statement from the girl’s mother, the court heard of the terrible impact Toyer’s abuse had upon her child.

She revealed: “It was a living nightmare. I am deeply concerned about the long-term impact this abuse will have on her emotional development.

“Her childhood innocence has been taken from her. She has been exposed to sexual knowledge far beyond her years.

“I grieve not only for what happened to my daughter, but for the version of her childhood that should have existed – that loss is permanent.”

The mother went on to add: “No sentence can restore the innocence that was taken, nor undo the trauma she has carried.

“What has been done to her cannot be undone. I ask the court to recognise that the consequences of these crimes extend far beyond the offences themselves and will remain with my daughter for the rest of her life.”

In mitigation, Toyer's representative, Owen Williams, informed the court that the defendant had no prior convictions on record and was a man of previous good character.

Judge Eugene Egan sentenced Toyer to a custodial period of 15 years. He was also given one year on an extended licence and will be registered as a sex offender for life.