A migrant from Romania who covered a schoolgirl's mouth to stop her screaming as he raped her has been jailed.
Emil Burlacu, 35, carried out the “traumatising” attacks on the youngster, 11, after arriving in Britain from eastern Europe in 2008.
A London court heard that Burlacu repeatedly threatened the girl and warned her not to complain to authorities.
She later told police: “He would come back and make sure my mouth would stay shut. He just kept saying stuff like that and threatening me.
“He was making me shut up. His hand was over my mouth and over my face. I was screaming and fighting him quite a lot.
“I was terrified of what he could do. He said that if someone was to find out, he would do something to me.”
I was terrified of what he could do
Burlacu, wearing a grey tracksuit, appeared at Isleworth Crown Court assisted by a Romanian interpreter.
He was sentence to 24 years in prison and made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order after a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape.
Burlacu, of Hillingdon, was also convicted of one count of assaulting a girl under 13 by penetration, one count of sexual assault and one count of causing a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
Prosecuting, Corinne Bramwell said the girl, whose identity has been withheld, has been left “traumatised” for the rest of her life.
But Hannah Thomas, defending, responded: “This is quite clearly offending on one occasion on one person.”
Ms Thomas said Burlacu is of “previous good character” and “has worked all his life since arriving in the UK”.
If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
