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Melbourne. A man who claimed it was acceptable in his culture to have sex with a child was Friday sentenced to 10 years' jail for his lengthy abuse of a girl who became pregnant at 11.

The Victorian County Court heard that the man was from the same ethnic minority as the girl and had been a family friend when he began abusing her in 2008. She gave birth to a baby boy in October 2010.

In defending his actions, the 31-year-old, whose name and ethnicity were suppressed, told authorities that "there were no restrictions on age" in his culture when it came to choosing a sexual partner.

But Judge Lisa Hannan said the man's conduct had been "abhorrent to anyone with a shred of decency or moral compass" as she sentenced him on charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child under 16 and child stealing.

"Whether or not it may or might have been acceptable in any culture in any part of the world is irrelevant," she said, Melbourne's Herald-Sun newspaper reported.

"You knew what you were doing was wrong," she added.

Hannan said the girl involved was a person entitled to trust him and he had grossly and repeatedly betrayed her.

"You robbed her of her childhood. You took away her self respect and made her feel guilty for something which was entirely your fault," she said.

The man, who has already served close to a year in prison, was handed a 10--year sentence with a non--parole period of seven years.

AFP