David Potts, 60, of Nafferton, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Friday after being found guilty of the charges following a trial in Bradford.

Two other men, Alan Morrison, 48, and Kevin Wright, 38, who were involved in the gang rape which they forced another child to watch, were given life and 18-year jail terms respectively.

Julie Ogg, of Bradford, was also jailed for 18 months after she was convicted of two charges of child cruelty.

Police have praised the bravery of the victims for speaking out over the “horrendous abuse” they suffered.

Det Constable Suzanna Jones, of West Yorkshire Police’s child and public protection unit, welcomed the sentences passed, which she said reflected the serious nature of the offences.

She said: “Kevin Wright, David Potts and Alan Morrison inflicted horrendous abuse on these young children.

“I want to praise the bravery of the two victims who gave evidence in difficult circumstances and I hope these sentences will allow them to move on with their lives.

“Our thoughts are with them and their families for their strength and courage throughout this difficult case.

“This was a terrible crime against two innocent and vulnerable children but now those responsible have been brought to justice.”

The abuse took place during 2003 and 2004, although Potts’ offences happened separately from those of Morrison, formerly of Cold Street, Haworth, and Wright, of Portwood Street, Heaton, Bradford.

They, along with Graham Blowers, who died in September 2004 before the case came to court, took turns to abuse the girl while another, older girl was forced to watch.

The court heard the older girl was hit if she turned away or closed her eyes during the ordeal.

The girls’ ordeal left them so traumatised they felt unable to report it to the authorities for more than three years after the assaults had stopped.

In a statement read in court, the older girl said: “I have a lack of confidence in almost everything I do and I also find it hard to speak to people my own age.

“I feel guilty I did not speak out earlier.”

The court heard the younger girl found it difficult to talk about her problems and “did not make friends”.

Morrison, who was found guilty of two charges of rape and two counts of indecency with children, was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of nine years.

Judge Scott Wolstenholme said his lack of remorse meant he was likely to remain a danger for an “inestimable period”.

He said Morrison, who refused to attend the trial or the sentencing hearing and chose to remain in his cell, had shown “remarkable hypocrisy” after he was jailed for 18 years in 2007 for the attempted murder of a man he suspected of sexually abusing a young girl.