An ex-paratrooper who served alongside Prince Harry has been jailed for 17 years for a for a string of child sexual offences he committed between 2010 and 2014.
The paedophile handed himself into police after going on the run for two weeks following his conviction for child rapes.
Wayne Domeney, 51, who also trained Prince William, was being hunted by police so he could be sentenced for a string of sex offences spanning a four-year period.
He disappeared following his conviction earlier this year but gave himself up following a high-profile manhunt.
The former soldier, of Consett, County Durham, handed himself into a police station in Basingstoke last month after an arrest warrant was issued.
Domeney was found guilty of 13 offences at Birmingham Crown Court on February 2 after his trial went ahead without him in his absence.
He had been on bail but failed to turn up for the hearing and was thought to have fled to the North East of England where he has family.
Domeney, also known as Wayne Rackham, was convicted of four counts of rape on a young girl and three counts of assaulting a girl by penetration while he lived in Bedworth, Warks.
He was also found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of intimidating a witness.
Domeney had previously breached bail in 2016 when he fled to the Isle of Wight to live with a woman instead of living with his brother in County Durham.
During a career spanning almost 25 years, Domeney served with 2 Para, took Princess Diana on a tour of Bosnian minefields and also met and was pictured with Prince Charles.
Domeney signed up to the Army in 1985 and became a Warrant Officer Sergeant Major, touring Iraq and Afghanistan as well as serving in Northern Ireland.
He met Prince Charles during a Colours Parade and boasted that he “always remembered me” and drank pints of Guinness with him.
In an interview last September, Domeney said: “He knew I was the boxing champ. I said, ‘We’ve got two pints of Guinness, will you toast the regiment?’ So he stayed for a few pints.
“We were joking about his posh voice so he put on a cockney accent. He was having a good time. I met him after at events and he always remembered me.”
Domeney also claimed he trained Prince William, and said he was “down to earth”. He also claimed to have served alongside Prince Harry in Afghanistan, describing him as “one of the lads”.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Kate Williams from Warwickshire Police said: “Domeney’s actions have resulted in lifelong consequences for his victim who is still coming to terms with what he did.
“Now that he is behind bars for a substantial length of time I hope she feel a sense of justice for the trauma he caused.
“She showed tremendous courage in talking to us about her experience and I hope this conviction will also encourage other victims to report offences to us.
“It doesn’t matter when the assaults happened, where they took place or who did it – we will take every report seriously and help provide support.”
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