Instagram predator raped girl three times.

A girl nearly killed herself after being targeted by a rapist described as "every mother's living nightmare."

Christopher McIntyre, 35, of Risbury Road, Norris Green, was sentenced to 18 years in prison with an extended four years on licence for raping a schoolgirl on three occasions.

The court heard how McIntyre began chatting to his victim on Instagram in 2019 and then gave her a "secret" mobile phone. He sent her explicit images and met up with her, raping her on three occasions.

The girl's mother described seeing her daughter lying in a hospital bed as "breaking her inside" after the child attempted suicide. Recorder Ian Unsworth, QC, told McIntyre: "You were every mother's living nightmare."

McIntyre denied any wrongdoing but was found guilty of three counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault at a trial in July. The judge said McIntyre's behaviour was "the most predatory and depraved way" and that he had "turned her world upside down, you almost ended her world."

The judge also noted McIntyre's "defiant" attitude and his "self-serving and self-pitying" letter to the court.

McIntyre was deemed a "dangerous" offender and will serve at least 12 years behind bars. He will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life, including a ban on contacting his victim or her parents.