A FATHER-of-two jailed for eight years for the rape of a 15-year-old schoolgirl has been slated by a judge for his "repulsive" behaviour in court.

David Parry, who was convicted after a nine-day trial at Worcester Crown Court, was said by Judge Andrew Geddes to have shown "an element of cynicism" in his dealings with the girl, who was vulnerable and in a Redditch children's home.

"During the trial, you lost no opportunity to denigrate the character of her and her mother in a bid to try to save your own neck," he said.

"It was a repulsive thing to watch and I think the jury will have noted it."

Parry, aged 31, of Wells Road, Malvern, forced the girl to have sex on March 12 last year as he drove her to the home after plying her with drink.

He stopped in a gateway and lied to police that his car had broken down.

Intimate medical examination revealed Parry's DNA on semen recovered from the victim.

The defendant claimed the teenager put the DNA in her own body from a used condom.

Abigail Nixon, defending, submitted that Parry was not cunning enough to have invented such an explanation as he was not "one of the sharpest tools in the box".

After the unanimous conviction, she said no violence had been used and no injuries caused. The girl had not been subjected to anything humiliating or degrading in the act of sex.

Parry had a wife and two children and she had attended court to support him.

The verdict would mean the loss of his family and his job.

Since his arrest, he had tried to commit suicide and had made further threats to take his life, said Miss Nixon.

Judge Geddes said Parry had been convicted on overwhelming evidence and had taken advantage of his access to the girl.

Parry went on the run last year after being given bail by a judge to go to a funeral. He did not return to prison and, after his arrest, was jailed for six months for escape.