A WILTSHIRE man will be sentenced in March for raping a child.

Appearing before Swindon Crown Court, Liam Jones, 24, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two counts of anal rape of a child under 13 and one count of sexually touching a child.

The charges relate to a period between late 2006 and August 2010, when Jones was aged between 11 and 15. They were committed in Trowbridge and Westbury.

He denied six other charges concerning the same girl and which included allegations of rape.

Prosecutor Rob Welling said the Crown Prosecution Service had spoken to Jones’s victim, who must be identified for legal reasons, and the pleas were acceptable.

“She very much needed closure and her views were canvassed on Friday and it was her wish that this matter was brought to a conclusion by acceptance of those pleas,” he told the court.

Jones was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on March 26, when he will also be dealt with for an arson charge to which he has already pleaded guilty at Salisbury Crown Court. Judge Peter Crabtree ordered a pre-sentence report, saying it should consider if Jones was a dangerous offender.