A MAN who sexually assaulted and raped a girl was yesterday jailed for 11 years.

Aubrey Banister, 50, carried out the offences at various locations, including at a campsite and a hotel, in the late-Nineties.

But Durham Crown Court heard they only came to light when the victim, now an adult, “reluctantly” reported what took place to police earlier this year after she broke down in front of her boyfriend.

Anne Richardson, prosecuting, told the court the victim still suffers flashbacks and has difficulty “being intimate with a man”.

The court was told Banister carried out the rapes while wearing no protection.

One took place in a tent at Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorkshire, and another in a room at the Swallow Hotel, Gateshead.

Banister, of Kell Crescent, Sherburn Hill, near Durham, admitted two charges of rape and three of indecent assault.

Katherine Dunn, for Banister, said they took place soon after Banister had separated from his partner.

She said: “He was unable to cope, living in squalor, and he may have suffered a breakdown.

“But, he cannot understand why he did what he did, and is finding it difficult to come to terms with it, even after all these years. He has pleaded guilty and is realistic enough to realise he faces many years in prison.”

Recorder Neil Davey QC told Banister: “You have pleaded guilty to these offences, but I am afraid the mitigation stops there.

“You treated this child as a sexual partner and did not even take the precaution of wearing a condom.

“Both types of offending, rape and indecent assault, took place more than once.”

The recorder said that after a trial, the sentence would have been one of 16 years in jail.

Announcing the 11-year sentence, he said Banister received full credit for his guilty pleas.

Banister is now banned indefinitely from working with children and has to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.