A Ministry of Defence engineer jailed for five years for molesting his sister can be named after his victim waived her right to anonymity.

Alex Carr, 29, was told by the Swindon Crown Court judge who jailed him that he had psychologically scarred his sister.

In March, a jury convicted him on four counts of sexual assault of a child and sexual activity with a child family member. Over four days, jurors heard how he had employed a mixture of violence, threats and grooming to ensure the abuse continued.

The 12-member jury found he had “dry humped” the girl, who was aged between seven and 17 and five years her brother’s junior, on no fewer than 12 occasions between 2004 and 2013. She told the court she was subjected to abuse more regularly.

You can read the full court report here.

In a victim statement that was read to the court on Tuesday morning by prosecutor Chris Smyth, the woman wrote: “I felt numb to what was going on because it happened so often. I felt it was normal.”

Following the sentencing hearing, the victim, now in her mid-20s, said: “After being silent for over 12 years I decided to share the case online. The amount of support I received was overwhelming.

“It shows how important it is to spread awareness and I’d like to hope that someone now has the courage to speak out, just as I have done. The earlier it is spoken about the quicker help and support can be provided.”