A ‘PORN-OBSESSED’ father who denied sexually abusing his own daughter over a two-year period from the age of seven and raping another young girl years earlier will be sentenced next week.

The 40-year-old, from Monk Bretton, has been appearing at Sheffield Crown Court this week for a resumed trial – which was adjourned late last year – having pleaded not guilty to a total of ten counts relating to the two girls’ claims last year.

He denied raping a family friend’s daughter in 2003 when she was aged 13, as well as five assaults by penetration and three counts of sexual assault.

Members of the jury were told that the man, who is not being named to protect the identity of the alleged victims, split up from his daughter’s mother, and the girl – who is now a teenager – would visit him for ‘one or two nights’ most weekends.

Prosecutor Sarah Pritchard QC said the first complainant, who the defendant knew due to his close ties to her family, is now 29 and came forward to the police in December 2017.

“It is our submission that the defendant raped one victim and sexually abused both girls,” she added. “One of the complainants is an adult now, but she was 13 when the incidents started.

“She alleges that the first involved rape and there were two more sexual assaults, in December 2004 and April 2006, where he touched her vagina and penetrated her digitally.

“The second victim is the defendant’s natural daughter and she told her mother and the police that he touched and penetrated her a number of times between the ages of seven and nine.

“Both the first victim and the second victim’s mother are friends and she confided in her days before she went to South Yorkshire Police. The youngster ‘broke down in tears’ when she told her mother, the defendant’s ex-partner, that her dad had touched her.

“He denied this completely and suggests the allegations have been made up by both parties.”

The rape, the Crown Prosecution Service said, took place following a gathering at a social club in Barnsley which resulted in the first victim sleeping on the settee in the defendant’s house – something which was not unusual due to the two families’ friendship.

“She recalls that she was on her period at the time and the defendant ripped out her sanitary towel and threw it across the room,” the jury was told.

“The rape lasted for four or five minutes and the victim said she counted to 60 each time in her head. She says she wanted to scream for help but she froze, she was mute.

“It was the first time she had had sex. The victim recalls being sore for several days but she stayed quiet because ‘he was an adult and I was just a kid’.

“On two other occasions, when she was 14 and 16, she says he penetrated her with his fingers and his behaviour would be fuelled after he had consumed alcohol.”

In a video recording played to the jury, the man’s daughter said the abuse happened ‘every time she was at his house’ and he would ask her if she wanted to watch pornography.

“Her parents split up when she was just a few months old,” Ms Pritchard said. “His ex-partner says this was because of his drinking habit and porn obsession.

“His daughter said her dad touched her, she didn’t want him to, and it happened each time she visited, so most weekends.

“The first time she says this happened was when she was a seven-year-old. On some occasions the penetration was hard, uncomfortable.

“She maintained contact with her dad until the youngster told the mother in December 2017. Her mum explained that she wasn’t allowed to go to her dad as a complaint about his behaviour had been made by another woman, which then saw the child break down in tears and reveal what had happened to her.”

The defendant was subsequently arrested on January 5, 2018. The trial, which ended on Tuesday, resulted in the jury finding the man guilty and he will return to court for sentencing on Monday.