THE policeman who helped uncover years of abuse by a paedophile says his 14-year sentence reflects the “depth of betrayal” of the crime.

More than five year's worth of images of the young girl were discovered on the computer of John Reed when police raided his home in Coppetts Close, Finchley, last May.

Officers had initially gone in after unemployed Reed, 46, had been detected downloading child porn, but found the folder, marked with the victim's name, on the PC.

They managed to trace the victim using Reed's phone records and discovered she had never told her family about the deviant, but said the attacks had started when she was aged just five.

At Wood Green Crown Court on Friday, Reed was jailed for 14 years and is expected to serve at least 11 years, after pleading guilty to rape and a string of other offences.

DC Steve Martin of the Met's child abuse investigation team said: “This was a harrowing case that involved the exploitation of a child for the most sordid reasons imaginable.

“A child was manipulated to think she was powerless to prevent the abuse continuing for years.

“This sentence reflects the depth of the betrayal and the vulnerability of the victim.

“While it cannot repair the damage, I know the family are satisfied with the length of the sentence and they have shown their support of each other to move forward with their lives.”