SOME of them had waited years for justice – so it was no surprise that there were tears of relief from victims and their family and friends as serial rapist Paul Kent was jailed for 19 years.

Kent, who is now 39, raped four different women in Basingstoke over a period of eight years, forcing them into depraved sexual acts, some during the course of relationships. Two other victims were subjected to crimes including sexual assault, blackmail and intimidation.

Kent was found guilty of 20 crimes, including sexual activity with a child, and acquitted of 10 others, following a trial in the summer.

Last Friday, some of the victims and their friends and family wept in the public gallery as Kent was jailed for nearly 20 years by Judge Guy Boney.

Sex beast Kent showed little emotion in the dock throughout the sentencing hearing, although he was seen to smirk as he was led away to the cells.

Meting out the punishment, Judge Boney told Kent: “You have no moral compass at all – it’s an instrument that does not appear on your dashboard.

“Not once did you express a smidgen of remorse, sorrow, sympathy or compassion about the appalling acts you put these women through.”

He said there were two reasons for Kent’s lack of remorse – a dislike of women and an “aura of armour-plated sexual arrogance” that led him, at one point in the trial, to portray himself as the victim.

Judge Boney told Kent: “It’s all utter nonsense. You have a turbo-charged sex drive, and you are utterly ruthless in the ways you go about it.”

Kent’s address during the trial was given as Maybrook, Chineham, but the sentencing hearing was told it was now listed as Belle Vue Road, Old Basing.

During the trial, he had either denied having sex with the women or said that the sexual acts – some of which Judge Boney said were amongst the most depraved the court had ever heard about – were consensual.

During the sentencing hearing, Stephen Parish, prosecuting, read out the victim impact statements from the seven women who had made allegations against Kent.

The court heard that most of them suffered from recurring nightmares that Kent was going to come back and harm them, and many of them described how difficult it was to be questioned about the allegations in court.

One woman told how she turned to self-harming after making her allegations. Another said: “Paul has left me feeling I cannot trust anyone, and I feel that I have lost confidence in myself.”

Mr Parish said that while the allegations made by the seventh woman did not result in convictions, her bravery in coming forward to the police gave confidence to some of the others to tell their stories.

Iain Lawrie, defending, said Kent’s mitigation was “meagre” but added that his client hoped to be moved to a prison on the Isle of Wight to take part in a sexual rehabilitation course.

Judge Boney ruled that Kent poses such a risk to the public that a parole board will only be able to decide whether he is fit for release after he has served two-thirds of his sentence.

If he is paroled, he will serve any remainder of his sentence on licence, and that licence period will be extended by four years, the judge said. Kent was also ordered to remain on the sexual offenders register for life.

After the hearing, Detective Constable Louise Trigg, who was praised for her work by the judge, welcomed the sentence, which she said marked the end of a “long and complex investigation”.

She said: “Paul Kent is a dangerous man who spent many years manipulating, controlling, and abusing women in the Basingstoke area.

“His behaviour towards women and girls was vile and degrading and has had lasting effects on all of their lives.

“The victims in the case may never be able to forget what happened to them at the hands of this man.”