A PAEDOPHILE who systematically raped two young girls, threatening he would kill them if they revealed what was happening, has been jailed for 12 years.

Judge Andrew Patience QC told Paul Goldsmith that he had behaved wickedly, and inflicted "anguish and misery" on the girls for his own pleasure.

Describing the 38-year-old as a danger to young girls the judge added: "You behaved in this cruel way totally to satisfy your own lust and you have never shown a flicker of remorse."

Under new guidelines Goldsmith, of Somerhill Road, Tonbridge, will serve half his sentence before being released on licence.

To protect the public Judge Patience, sitting at Maidstone Crown Court, also ordered that Goldsmith be banned from working with children and having unsupervised contact with girls under 16.

The court heard the girls were sexually abused over a period of four years between July 2001 and February 2005.

Their horrific ordeal only came to light when their mother found disturbing letters one had written about her attacker. They contained secret coded messages in Roman numerals and one told of being strangled while Goldsmith abused her.

One of the victims was molested after Goldsmith had handcuffed her to a bed. When she cried he covered her mouth.

Prosecutor Robin Johnson said Goldsmith told the terrrified girl: "By the way, I am going to have sex with you now." As she continued to sob he put a towel over her mouth and raped her.

On another occasion Goldsmith, said to be an alcoholic, put on pornographic films, ordered the girls to strip and raped one of them in front of the other.

The court heard he also made serious threats to kill them if they told anybody. He warned one girl: "If you tell anyone you will be dead", and in one of the coded letters the girl described how he had threatened to break her neck and cut her throat.

Goldsmith denied the charges but was unanimously convicted of seven charges of rape in relation to one girl and two of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault in relation to her sister.

He was jailed for 12 years concurrent on all the rape charges and for seven years concurrent on the remaining charges.

Judge Patience said alcoholism was "absolutely no excuse" for what he did. "The anguish and misery inflicted upon those girls was obvious," he added.

Goldsmith, who maintained his innocence, was not in court to hear the verdicts earlier this month as he fled during his trial.

Rosina Cottage, defending, said he had been "extremely frightened" but gave himself up a few days later.

He has remained in custody ever since but Judge Patience ruled that that time served should not count towards his sentence. "You brought these extra days entirely on your own head," he said.

Upon his release from prison, Goldsmith will have to sign on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.