A CHILD rapist who abused five youngsters over the course of more than a decade has been jailed for 20 years.

“Controlling” Kevin Dunford, 43, began to prey on the first of his victims in the 1980s when he himself was a teenager.

When he was in his mid-20s, he told a girl more than 15 years his junior that they were in a relationship with each other before raping her in her own home.

The defendant - a former retained firefighter - was convicted of 13 counts of indecent assault, three of indecency with a child, two of attempted rape and two of rape following a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.

He collapsed in the dock as Judge Jonathan Fuller told him he will spend at least 10 years behind bars.

The judge highlighted a “disturbing” incident when Dunford drove one of the victims to a secluded area before putting a shotgun in his mouth.

“You told her you were going to shoot yourself because you were worried that she was going to say something,” he said.

“This was a warning to her that reduced her to screams of concern that she was going to witness a man kill himself by blowing his head off.”

The defendant was once overheard by the child’s parents telling her that she must choose between him and her family - an attempt to control her that was tantamount to “cruel emotional blackmail,” Judge Fuller said.

It is believed Dunford, of Bayfran Way in Blandford, first abused a child in 1985.

The most recent offence before the court took place in 1998.

Judge Fuller said the defendant was “manipulative” even when committing his earliest offences at the age of around 14.

“You were already of the mindset to take advantage of those who were younger,” he said.

“With threats, you were capable of getting your own way.”

Dunford is currently employed by Dorset County Council’s highways division as a community officer. A spokesperson from the council said: “We will look to terminate his contract with immediate effect.”

A spokesperson from the Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said Dunford began work at the fire station in Blandford in 2006.

“As an organisation, we are completely committed to safeguarding the health and well-being of young people,” she said.