An abuser who left a 12-year-old girl with lasting psychological harm had been jailed.

Martin Smith used the alias of the American serial killer Ted Bundy while carrying out some of the sexual assaults on the girl in South Devon when she was 112 and 13.

He is a talented chef who worked at a restaurant in Torquay which earned an entry in the respected Michelin Guide.

The girl did not report the offences at the time but told a schoolfriend a few months later after they had been in a sex education class. He friend persuaded her to tell her mother, who called in the police.

She wrote a victim impact statement saying she is still suffering the psychological effects and has struggled to form normal relationships as a result of her experiences.

Smith, aged 39, now of no fixed address, denied two counts of assault by penetration and two of sexual activity with a child but was found guilty by a jury at Exeter Crown Court in March.

He was jailed for eight years with a one-year extended licence by Judge David Evans, who told him: “The victim’s personal statement made it clear that you have caused very significant psychological trauma.

“As is often the case with sexual abuse of a child, that that harm will last for a significant time.”

The judge imposed a 15 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order which restricts Smith’s contact with children after his release.

Mr Richard Crabb, prosecuting, said the abuse started in the late 2010s when the girl was aged 12 and continued until she plucked up the courage to tell him to stop when she was 13.

At times he used the pseudonym of Ted Bundy, a notorious serial killer, but the victim had never heard of him and did not realise the significance at the time.

Smith denied all the allegations and said they had been invented. Mr Lee Bremridge, defending, said Smith had done good work during his life and was a successful chef whose work had helped his employers gain a place in the Michelin Guide.