Uffculme caretaker 'raped girl 400 times'
A paedophile who was said to have raped one of his victims up to 400 times has been jailed.
Prosecutors told Exeter Crown Court David Brown treated the girl like "a sexual plaything".
The 62-year-old, of Highland Terrace, Uffculme, was convicted of 15 rapes and two indecent assaults on two young girls when they were as young as nine.
Former town hall caretaker Brown, who had denied all the charges, was sentenced to 22 years.
The court heard the caretaker and odd job man raped one of the girls hundreds of times over a six-year period, dating back to the 1990s.
Brown once used "brute force" on the girl and "stupefied her with gin" so that she passed out before he forced himself on her, the court was told.
The victim told the court that Brown had "completely ruined my life".
The jury was told Brown took his victims down to a river where he attacked them, saying "it will be our little secret".
He raped one girl in the town hall at Cullompton, where he worked was caretaker.
The judge, Recorder David Bartlett, said: "You took her there and raped her and bundled her into a cupboard when someone came there."
Prosecutor Simon Laws QC told the jury that Brown's crimes "caught up with him" after his victims grew up and had the courage to speak out.
Sentencing Brown, Recorder Bartlett told him he would serve 12 years in jail, but would remain on licence for a further 10 years when he was freed.