The child victim of an unrepentant 24-year-old paedophile stood up in court and told her attacker: “All you deserve is prison for the rest of your life.”

The young girl read out a heartbreaking letter at Canterbury Crown Court before Jordan Ryder was jailed for almost 10 years for a string of sexual assaults on two children.

She read her statement from another room inside the court, and was so small she could barely be seen by the camera.

“You are a waste of time,” she told Ryder. “You are nothing but a stupid man. You don’t deserve nothing - all you deserve is prison for the rest of your life.”

The girl, whose mother watched on in tears, won praise from Judge Heather Norton, who had assured her she did not have to read out her statement, but she said she wanted to.

The youngster said the attacks had caused her problems at school and her mother had to “cheer me up”.

Prosecutor Martin Yale had outlined how police had tracked down Ryder through his downloading of vile child sex images from the “dark web”.

After he was arrested, Ryder, of Stanley Gardens, Herne Bay, shocked officers by confessing to sexually assaulting two girls, but later brazenly defended his views on being a paedophile.

His own lawyer James Howard described his attitude as “defiant arrogance”.

The victims’ mother, who broke down reading her victim impact statement from the witness box, told Judge Heather Norton the attacks have “destroyed me”.

Ryder, who sat impassively throughout the hearing, had admitted nine charges of downloading illegal images and sexual assaults on two children.

The judge said: “This was a deliberate course of conduct deliberately carried out by you against two children.

“What you did will have lasting consequences for them. Yet you held a view and still have a view that what you did caused them no harm.

“One only has to listen to what was read out to understand the damage you caused. A probation report says you have no wish to change your views.

“I have been watching you as you sat impassively. You demonstrate a total lack of insight, understanding, or empathy.

"You have entrenched and disturbing ideas. You have sexually deviant thoughts and behaviour and you pose a serious risk for the future.”

Ryder was jailed for nine years and nine months, with a further five years to serve on licence when he is released.

He was ordered to remain on the Sex Offender’s Register for life and he was banned from staying in a house where girls under 16 might live.

After the hearing, Detective Constable Dawn Taylor said: "Ryder was obsessed with young girls and when interviewed made admissions to several sexual offences against children but showed no remorse whatsoever.

"He is a danger to children and the lengthy prison sentence reflects the severity of his offending.

"The offences were unearthed following a thorough investigation by detectives from the Paedophile On Line Investigation Team who worked tirelessly to present the best possible evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service in order to assist in delivering justice to Ryder’s young victims."

An NSPCC spokesman added: "Speaking out about child sexual abuse is difficult for any survivor and this victim's statement to court was incredibly brave.

"It's really important that those affected by Ryder’s awful actions receive support to overcome the trauma of sexual abuse, as its effects can last a lifetime. In Kent the NSPCC is delivering its Letting the Future In service which helps children who've been sexually abused to rebuild their lives, so they can overcome the past and start looking to the future."