A MAN has been jailed for more than 13 years after pleading guilty to raping a child.
Barry Brennan went on trial at Newcastle Crown Court in November last year charged with three counts of rape of a child.
However, on the second day of his trial, he pleaded guilty to two counts, with the third allowed to lie on file.
At the same court last Friday, the 39-year-old of Shields Road in the Byker area of Newcastle, north-east England, was sentenced to a total of 13-and-a-half years in prison.
The victim's family first contacted Northumbria Police in 2021 to say she had been raped by Brennan several years previously.
Officers immediately beginning a thorough investigation and Brennan was arrested soon after.
He denied all allegations in interview but was subsequently charged with three counts of rape of a child.
'Significant' sentence welcomed
Following Brennan's sentencing, Detective Constable Lisa Herron of Northumbria Police described him as a 'highly dangerous individual'.
"First and foremost, I'd like to thank the victim in this case," she said.
"They and their family have shown incredible bravery in coming forward to report the abuse which Brennan had subjected her to and it is thanks to them that he is beginning a lengthy prison term.
"Without the victim's strength and determination, this result could not have been achieved.
"Brennan is a highly dangerous individual and it is only right that he is now behind bars for a significant amount of time."
Brennan was also made the subject of a restraining order and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, while he will also remain on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.
