A PAEDOPHILE ‘devoid of emotion’ has been jailed indefinitely after abusing a 10-year-old girl.

Paul Swindells, of Radcliffe Road, Winsford, was convicted of two counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault against a child who cannot be named for legal reasons after a 10 day trial.

Wyn Lloyd-Jones, prosecuting the 46-year-old, said: “He was trying to make sure she didn’t make a complaint and said she wouldn’t be believed. He told her if she told anyone he would be arrested if the police got involved.”

The defendant was arrested in March 2009 after the victim had the courage to tell people about the abuse she suffered.

Kate Lumsdon, defending, at Chester Crown Court on Monday, said: “Swindells is a very well thought of man and had contact with young people before with no question cast before him.

“He arranged a golf tournament for a boy who needed a wheelchair.

“By denying the offences and continuing very strongly to deny these offences he can’t show remorse because he can’t accept it took place.

“He isn’t the sort of man that went hunting for children, hanging around playgrounds. It is the situation that he found himself in and took advantage. He shouldn’t be a risk of further offences.”

Judge Roger Dutton dismissed letters from the defendant’s family protesting his innocence.

Sentencing Swindells, Judge Dutton said the criminal was convicted on compelling evidence, with the aggravating feature being the girl’s age.

He said: “You abused her in the foulest manner, the overall effect on this girl is impossible to judge.

“It became apparent that she was going to say something. You embarked upon a campaign to discredit her character. She would have been regarded a hysterical child, not telling the truth. The jury wholly rejected that account.

“You are a man completely devoid of emotion.”

He said a probation officer found him to show no anger or frustration about the allegations he claimed were false and he acted cool, calm and collective without any remorse.

He was given an indeterminate sentence. He will serve eight years before being eligible for parole.

Swindells will sign the sex offenders register and be forbidden from working with children for the rest of his life.

DS Brendan Crilley, of Cheshire Police’s Public Protection Unit, said “Swindells was a devious, selfish and calculating man, who preyed on the vulnerabilities of a young girl for his own gratification.

“Thankfully his victim eventually built up the courage through her friends to speak out. The investigation has been complex and disturbing for all involved, but I would like to pay tribute to the victim in the case who has shown great bravery during a traumatic process.