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A man who was found guilty of raping his seven-year-old niece has been jailed for 10 years.

A jury found the man guilty of raping the girl, now 18, guilty with six votes to three.

The girl had told the court that she suffers the effects of the rape to this day. She said she was raped five times, mostly at her grandmother's house.

The jury also found the man, who is now 27, guilty of defiling the girl with eight votes to one.

The trial was characterised by tension throughout, with the prosecution and defence counsel at each other's throats, raising objections to the point where Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono had to warn them to keep calm.

Publication of identities was banned by the court to protect the victim's identty.