FORMER RAF sergeant Dean Faulkner, who repeatedly raped a girl and sexually abused two other children, has been jailed for 20 years.

Faulkner, 46, first coerced and then threatened the youngsters as he satisfied his “own perverted sexual desires”.

He was based at Lyneham and lived in Royal Wootton Bassett when he carried out the abuse between 1997 and 2009.

James Newton-Price, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that Faulkner got to know the first victim when she was 12. He regularly molested her and when she was 14 he started to rape her, which happened about ten times. During that time he also made her perform sex acts on him, which only ended when she was 16 or 17.

He then began to sexually abuse another girl, starting when she was aged 11 in 2004 going through to 2009, when he moved away.

The final incident took place around New Year’s Day 2009 when Faulkner, who served for 22 years in the RAF, sexually abused a boy.

Mr Newton-Price said Faulkner had initially treated the girls well then using threats to ensure their silence after abuse took place.

When he left his former home one of the girls plucked up the courage to speak about what had taken place. The others then came forward.

Faulkner, of Colwyn Bay, Wales, initially denied all the charges but changed his pleas before a jury could be sworn on the day of the trial.

He admitted a multi-incident count of rape, meaning the offence happened more than once. He also admitted three indecent assaults, two sexual assaults and two of sexual activity with a child. He denied one count of rape.

Chris Smyth, defending, said his client had been using his time in custody on remand to tackle his issues. His family supported him and he worked as a electrician.

Judge Douglas Field said he would take the rape of the first girl to be the lead offence in the sentence he imposed.

He said: “In effect, you corrupted her to satisfy your own perverted sexual desires. The psychological damage to the three of them will be long lasting.”

He imposed a sexual offences prevention order, which means Faulkner must not have contact with children unless their parents know about his past.

He is banned from working with children and must register as a sex offender for life.

A restraining order was imposed to ban him from having contact with the victims or their families.