Paedophile found guilty of abducting and raping girl, 6

A paedophile was warned yesterday that he would be locked up for life after he was convicted of abducting a six-year-old girl from her bath and raping her.

The victim was dumped naked on the street after the assault, and her mother said that the attack was every parent's nightmare.

Peter Voisey, 35, who already had a conviction for sexually assaulting a child, broke into the girl's home, a ground floor flat in North Tyneside. His victim had been briefly left alone while her mother dried and dressed the girl's younger brother.

He drove the six-year-old around the area, repeatedly sexually abused her, then abandoned her, naked and screaming, in a snow-covered alleyway last December.

Voisey, of Blyth, was told by Judge David Hodson at Newcastle Crown Court that he would receive a life or indefinite sentence to protect the public when he is sentenced on 1 December.

Following the conviction, the victim's mother on behalf of herself, her partner and her daughter's father said: "My little girl was in the bath in her own home within earshot of everyone else in the flat, the back door was shut and I'd only just left the bathroom to go to another room when she was snatched.

"It's every mother's nightmare to think your children aren't safe in their home. You wouldn't think you would have to lock all your doors this early in the evening to protect your children from anyone entering your home uninvited."

Since the attack, the mother said that her daughter has found it difficult to sleep. She told the jury during the trial: "She was six. How could she explain what had happened?"

The court was told that Voisey carried out a similar attack on a 12-year-old girl at a swimming pool in Macclesfield four years earlier. Voisey was found guilty yesterday of abduction, rape and sexual assault on the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons. He wept and held his head in his hands on hearing the verdicts.

Among the evidence was tiny amounts of DNA recovered. The samples were too small to provide an exact match but Voisey was found to have a similar profile. A footprint found in the girl's bathroom partially matched his training shoe.

Police recovered his diary in which the entry for 27 December read: "Phew, it's over. Chill now."

The prosecution successfully applied for bad character evidence under the 2003 Criminal Justice Act to be put before the jury, who were told of the similar sex attack at the swimming pool.

The court also heard he was responsible for two break-ins which had a sexual element.

A friend recalled Voisey confiding he wanted to "do something" to a child after the pair drove past two youngsters aged around six and eight, the jury heard.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Napier, who headed the inquiry, said: "There is no doubt that Voisey is a serial sexual predator.

"He is also a convicted burglar ... it's my view that he was out and about looking for a house to burgle."

Voisey was under supervision as a convicted sex offender at the time of the attack. A review will now be held as to how he was monitored after his release from a two-year jail sentence for the swimming pool attack.

As a sex offender, he was subject of multi-agency public protection arrangements (Mappa) after his release from prison for the Macclesfield offence.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "A multi-agency internal review of the case is being commissioned by the strategic management board of Mappa."

Mr Napier said he was "satisfied" that Voisey was appropriately managed. He said police were helped by the fact that he was on the sex offender register, which made it a priority to interview about the crime.