A 66-year-old man who raped his son nine times at their home in Waterford has been jailed for 14 years.

The boy, who is now 14, has since moved to the UK where he is being treated in a specialised facility.

The 66-year-old, who cannot be named to protect his son’s identity, was also sentenced today for locking him in a wooden cage-like box.

Judge Robert Eager said it was hard to imagine the effects these appalling acts of sexual abuse have had on the boy.

The abuse began in 2009 when he was just six and continued right up until he was taken into care when he was just shy of his 8th birthday.

The allegations of sexual abuse were made to specialist gardaí some time later.

The boy spent 10 days giving evidence through a live video link from the UK.

He also told them his father had built a wooden cage-like box in his shed, and locked him in it for hours.

Following a seven-week trial earlier this year, his father was found guilty on nine counts of rape and one count of child cruelty.

His mother was also convicted of child cruelty.

In his victim impact statement, the boy described his father as a “horrible and cruel man” and said he wanted to hurt him for what he did.

He said words had not been invented for what his father did to him and he compared him to Adolf Hitler.

In reaching a sentence of 15 years with the final 12 months suspended, Judge Eager said the damage done was the most aggravating factor.