The man was sentenced to nine years and nine month's jail. Photo / File
A Northland man high on methamphetamine raped a 3-year-old girl.
His offending only came to light after a doctor confirmed the young child had contracted a sexually transmitted disease.
The man was invited to stay in the girl's home but repaid the family's kindness by raping the girl, Judge Duncan Harvey said.
"As rapes go, this is one of the most serious I have ever seen," Judge Harvey said during sentencing in the Whangarei District Court last week.
He was sentenced to nine years and nine months' jail and given a minimum non-parole period of five years.
"There's no other way to describe this better than heart-breaking. Your actions have done so much harm. Only time will tell how much damage has been done."
The man was given name suppression after the family feared naming him would identify the child.
In a pre-sentence report the man said he had been "amped up on meth and couldn't remember anything" when he raped the girl.
"Given her age there was nothing she could have possibly done to resist you. You raped this little girl when you knew you had an STD and you just didn't care," Judge Harvey said.
"You were in the home as a guest, out of the kindness of her parents and this is what you do."
A police summary stated the young girl had been living in a Whangarei home when the man moved in. The offending came to light last year when the girl was taken to a doctor and tests were done confirming she had gonorrhoea.
A urine sample from the man confirmed he had the same sexually transmitted disease.
The offenders took off in a stolen vehicle with cigarettes, cash and other items.