A father who filmed himself on his mobile phone raping his baby daughter has been jailed for life.

When police first began investigating the 29-year-old they believed they had caught someone downloading child pornography.

However, from clothes worn by the baby girl and the locations, police realised they were witnessing the sexual abuse of the defendant’s daughter when she was less than a year old.

Ann Evans, prosecuting at St Albans Crown Court today (Wednesday) said forensic analysis of the father’s computer and mobile phone led to the charges of rape and other child sex offences, including possession of thousands of indecent images, making indecent images, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and possession of extreme pornographic images.

The father had even named a folder found on a computer in his bedroom with the pet name he and his partner used for their child.

Miss Evans said: “During questioning over the child pornography he said he had not done anything to a child and so should not be given the same label as a paedophile.

“When he realised he was going to have his own child he said the thought of someone doing that to his child meant the guilt overwhelmed him.

“He said he could not take the pictures himself as he would ‘probably be sick on the camera’.”

“But pictures were taken by him on his own mobile phone as he raped his daughter, who was less than one-year-old at the time.”

In an impact statement Miss Evans read to the court, the baby’s mother spoke of her “guilt” at leaving the baby alone with its father.

“I would do anything to protect her and cannot describe the guilt I feel.

“I think if only I had not gone out and left my little girl with him.

“But the one person she should be able to trust is her dad,” she said.

David Wales said in mitigation that when his partner became pregnant the couple were socially isolated.

They had few interests in common and they became isolated in themselves, which led to the defendant “experiencing aspects of his personality” that may have otherwise remained dormant.

The defendant sat impassively in the dock as Judge Stephen Gullick sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Judge Gullick said: “This was conduct of horrifying depravity committed against your own natural daughter.

“Your basic duty as a father was to protect her, not to abuse her and use her as a sex toy for your own sexual gratification.

“Gratification which could doubtless be repeated by being able to look, as often as you wished at photographs you had taken of her being abused by you; photographs which you stored on your own laptop.”

He added: “There are no words to express the horror which heinous offending such as this generates, particularly given that your victim was the most vulnerable that could be imagined.”

The defendant was told his release will only come when the authorities are satisfied he is no longer a danger to the public.

He showed no emotion as he was led away to begin his sentence.