A 34-year-old man from South Devon has been jailed for 18 years and handed a further six years on extended licence after admitting 17 offences, including the rape of a girl under the age of 13-years-old.

Edward Howard, of Warren Road, Torquay, was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on Thursday, October 22, having pleaded guilty to the charges at a hearing on Thursday, August 20.

Four of the offences related to the same victim and included rape of a girl under 13, two counts of attempted assault by penetration of a girl under 13, and making an indecent photograph of a child.

Howard also admitted six counts of making indecent images of children, covering Category A, B and C material, as well as three counts of distributing indecent images, one in each category.

His other offences included possession of extreme pornography and three counts of sexual communication with a child.

The investigation began in December 2025, when Howard was arrested after information was received that he had uploaded indecent images of children to the internet.

Further examination of his mobile phone uncovered a large quantity of indecent images of children across all three categories.

Officers also found evidence of sexual communications with three children on the device, alongside images Howard had taken himself of one victim.

The victim later disclosed that Howard had sexually assaulted her on more than one occasion.

The case was investigated by Devon and Cornwall Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team.

Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Ryan McGregor, the officer in the case, described the investigation as “complex and disturbing”.

He said the case demonstrated the importance of thorough investigative work and gathering strong evidence to secure guilty pleas.

DC McGregor also praised the victim’s courage in coming forward, saying she had been supported by her family and specially trained officers throughout the process.

He said: ‘We welcome today’s sentence. We will never stop investigating such offences to safeguard children and protect the public from those who seek to hurt children’.

He added that police hoped the outcome would provide some comfort to the victim and her family, while encouraging other survivors of sexual offences to report what had happened to them.

‘No matter who is involved or when it happened, we will do whatever is in our power to bring offenders to justice, protect and support survivors, and enable the truth to be uncovered about these terrible crimes’, he said.

DC McGregor warned those who engage in sexual offending against children that police would continue to pursue them, adding that offenders could expect to be caught.

The sentence follows an investigation that brought multiple offences involving child sexual abuse material and direct offending against a young victim before the court.

If you have been affected by this article there is support available.

You can visit victimcare-dc.org to access support services and information on your rights and how to navigate the criminal justice system.

You can also call Victim Support on 0808 1689 111 or Devon and Cornwall Police’s Victim Care Unit on 01392 475900.