POLICE say they tirelessly investigate accusations however old they are after a "violent and cruel" rapist was jailed for nine-and-a-half years.

Former Army cook Norman Maddox raped the teenage girl in Colchester in the 1970s.

The 64-year-old had denied the accusation but was convicted of rape and ABH.

Maddox, of Southbank Road, Manchester, was cleared of four other offences of rape, five offences of indecent assault, one offence of assault causing actual bodily harm and five involving gross indecency.

Ipswich Crown Court heard the victim was still impacted by the incident.

Det Insp Lisa Norcott, of Essex Police’s Public Protection Investigations Team, praised her colleagues for their work and urged any other victims of historic offences to come forward.

She said: “Maddox has been sent to prison for offences that occurred over four decades ago following some great work by officers from the North Child Abuse Investigation Team.

“We’ve worked tirelessly to build a case against him after receiving reports back in 2014 and last week a sexual predator was jailed.

“Maddox is a violent and cruel individual who thought he’d got away with his offences at a time when the world and policing was in a much different place.

"He will now face the consequences of his crimes locked in prison.

“We will always investigate any report made to us – be it just an hour ago or crimes that took place many, many decades ago and this case shows the lengths we go to in order to secure a sentence.”

Maddox is now on the Sex Offender’s Register and an application has been made to make him subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.