Peter Glenn Pryse, 40, of Bendigo, pleaded guilty in the Bendigo County Court on Thursday to four counts of sexual penetration with a child under 16.

Pryse was aged between 18 and 20 when he engaged in sexual encounters with the girl, who was aged in her early teens.

The court heard details of 14 individual examples of sexual intercourse. They included instances of Pryse holding the girl down with force, which left the victim “upset and frightened”.

On another occasion, the girl attempted to resist by “pushing him away”.

Details of the offending were graphic in nature.

The girl was one of three victims to contact police in the late 1990s about their experiences with Pryse. Her matter was not prosecuted until recently.

In her victim impact statement, read to the court on Thursday, she described the ongoing effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, while also remaining in a “hyper vigilant state”.

The victim spoke directly to Pryse in court.

“I was sexually abused by you, Peter Pryse,” she said.

“I suffered a nervous breakdown when the traumatic memories resurfaced.”

The victim also spoke of the “disappointment” at the lack of police prosecution against Pryse.

Judge Paul Lacava sympathised with the victim, and agreed that police had “let her down badly”.

“Even an investigator at the bottom of the class could have investigated this,” he said.

The court heard Pryse suffered abuse as a child, and believed his “relationship” with the victim was positive for both parties.

Pryse received an 18-month suspended jail sentence in 1999 after police proceeded with the complaints made against him from two other women.

He was sentenced to four years and nine months with a non-parole period in 2003 for three counts of indecent acts with children under 16, and a further four years after more allegations were brought against him.

Pryse was released on bail despite opposition from the prosecution, and will be sentenced in Bendigo on Thursday.