The 43-year-old man admitted raping the girl at their home just two months after he had married her mother.

His lawyer Ms Patricia Harvey claimed lack of sex leading to depression and alcoholism had been factors in the rape.

Crown Counsel Mr. Steven Harrison said in Supreme Court yesterday that the crime came to light last year when the girl, then aged 11, was having problems at school. She told teachers she was being sexually abused at home.

The man, who cannot be named because it may lead to identification of the victim in the case, married her mother in 1992.

Mr. Harrison said: "He had first sexually assaulted her on October 7, 1992, when she wakened to find herself bound and gagged and he then raped her.'' The man raped the girl at least twice more over the following four months, into 1993. She claimed she was bound and gagged on the other occasions.

Mr. Harrison stated that the man had threatened to hit the girl's mother if the girl said anything about the attacks. She said there were other sexual assaults.

The mother confronted her husband with her daughter's allegations and he later admitted them to Police.

The defendant admitted the rape but denied binding and gagging the girl or making threats. Mr. Harrison agreed not to proceed with the allegations of aggravated assault.

But he stressed there were aggravating factors in the rape including that it occurred on at least three separate occasions. Other factors were the age of the victim and the fact that the offence was committed despite a position of trust.

In mitigation Ms Harvey said the mother had repeatedly left her husband to babysit with the child.

Chief Justice the Hon. Mr. Justice Ward disagreed, saying that a stepfather would be expected to look after the children. Ms Harvey replied that there should be a balance.

Mr. Justice Ward admitted that a mitigating argument in the case of a 40-year-old man having sex with a 10-year-old girl was difficult.

Ms Harvey continued: "He has apologised in open court and co-operated with the Police in this matter. There is a 21-page confession. It must have been comforting to the mother and the child that at least he was owning up and confessing so they would not have go through the trauma and pain of appearing in court.'' She said that during interviews with herself and a psychiatrist the defendant had broken down in tears, on almost every occasion. The attacks were out of character with the behaviour people who knew him were accustomed to seeing.

Ms Harvey said the marriage was on a "roller-coaster course'' to failure and it had been some months since his wife had sex with him.

St. Brendan's consultant psychiatrist Dr. Gavin Tennant agreed the man needed counselling. Ms Harvey added: "He is in a young marriage and is still obviously infatuated with the woman.

"He should have received counselling for the depression which had arisen because of the breakdown of his marriage.

"He felt helpless and resorted more and more to drink which led to lapses of judgement. The normally likable fellow was no longer functioning.'' Ms Harvey felt the man had already been punished by the break-up of his marriage and the loss of his family.

The Chief Justice said credit given for his early confession and the guilty plea did not remove the enormity of the crime. He imposed the sentence of ten years.