For more than 50 years Edward Dillon carried a sordid secret that will now likely see him die behind bars.

In the late 1960s the retired hospital worker - now aged 81 - carried out a series of sex attacks on a young girl on her newspaper round.

But he was not arrested until recently after his courageous victim finally revealed details of the attacks to police.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how the child had exposed the pervert many years ago but was talked out of reporting it to police by her mother.

Now Dillon, of Poplar Drive, Greenhill, has finally admitted to police that he carried out the assaults.

Judge Simon James told him he will be jailed for 12 years, saying: “The sentence raises the very real prospect that you will die in prison.

“That is the inevitable consequences of offending of this seriousness.

“The effect on your victim is and will continue to be profound.”

The judge said Dillon had been able to live “the whole of his life” as a respectable man of good character.

“The reality is very different,” he added. “For the past 50 years you have been living a lie, after subjecting your victim to a campaign of vile sexual abuse.”

Judge James said some of the details of the impact on the victim’s life had “been heartbreaking to hear”.

Dillon, who once worked for an undertakers, had attacked the child, demanding sex while she wanted to continue on her paper round.

Prosecutor Paul Valder told the court how the Dillon also demanded she pose for intimate photographs to satisfy his thirst for twisted sexual pleasure.

His victim sat in the public gallery just feet away as Dillon was forced to listen to the impact his attacks have had on her.

The woman revealed in a statement how she had suffered repeated horrifying nightmares reliving her ordeal.

"For the past 50 years you have been living a lie, after subjecting your victim to a campaign of vile sexual abuse" - Judge Simon James

The judge told Dillon his confessions now might help his victim move on, knowing her attacker had not escaped punishment for the serious crimes against her.

Detective Inspector Louise Murphy said: "What Dillon did was vile and unimaginable. I hope this sentence provides some comfort to victims of sexual abuse that we will do everything we can to ensure those who commit these crimes are jailed.

"I pay tribute to any child for having the courage and strength to come forward with information that allows us to ensure people like Dillon are sent to prison.

"I would like to encourage anyone who has or is suffering to contact us or a friend as soon as possible so that we can help you fight the abuse."

Dillon, who worked as an auxillary nurse at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in the 1980s, showed no emotion as he was sentenced.

Ian Bond, defending, said Dillon was now in poor health and suffers from hearth problems but accepts that what he did was “inexcusable”.

An NSPCC spokesman said: “For half a century Dillon’s horrific crimes went undetected but now, thanks to the courage of his victim, he has finally been brought to justice.

“As this case proves, child sexual abuse can have a devastating impact on people’s lives’. In effect, Dillon’s victim was handed a life sentence of unimaginable suffering because of the abuse she endured so many years ago. We sincerely hope she is receiving the help she needs so she can finally move forward with her life.”

“Victims of child sexual abuse do not need to suffer in silence.”

Advice and support is available for adults via the NSPCC’s Helpline on 0808 800 5000, while children can call Childline on 0800 1111.