Paedophile, 69, claims sex abuse of girl, 5, can’t have been rape ‘because he loved her’
A SENIOR citizen who sexually abusing a child from when she was five years old claims it couldn't have been rape because "he loved her."
Donald Glynn Caple, 69, was arrested for raping the girl in March 2018 and confessed to molesting her "millions" of times, according to court testimony.
A judge sentenced the Little Rock, Arkansas native to life in jail on Wednesday, the reported.
Caple, who once worked at a children's hospital, claimed he would never have abused the girl so horrendously because he wanted her to be a virgin when she got married, just like he was on the day of his wedding in 1973.
The victim, who is now 13, was so traumatized by the abuse that she was allegedly pushed to the point of self-harm and even attempted suicide.
"I'm still trying to realize that this is not my fault," she told prosecutors.
She has since been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which can cause flashbacks, ruin sleep, and cause depression.
She detailed how the abuse started when she was just four years old, and how she had asked Caple about the meaning of the word '"sex" when she overheard a classmate saying the phrase.
He responded by allegedly showing her porn and began molesting her when she turned five, referring to his vile behavior as "play."
The teen claimed she told him to stop once she realized his behavior was wrong when she was 10 in 2017.
She accused Caple of groping her breasts the following year despite him agreeing to end the abuse.
The ordeal prompted her to tell a school counselor, which led to his arrest shortly after.
Caple allegedly targeted the child after offering her family a home to live in rent-free and acted as a babysitter for the victim and her younger brother.
He offered the court a nauseating defense of his sick behavior, saying he was "weak" but cognizant of his wrongdoing.
"I was doing it, but understood I shouldn't be doing it. I even tried to tell her we shouldn't be doing it," he said.
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The victim's mother painfully shared the anguish her daughter endured at the hands of the predator.
"He has sentenced my daughter to a life of sexual trauma," the 41-year-old mom told jurors.
Caple faces another rape charge in a neighboring county over accusations he molested the same girl at an address there from December 2010 to September 2014.