A man has been jailed for four years after being found guilty of raping a boy he babysat for.
Daniel Bird, 24, of Northenden Road, Sale, was made to sign the sex offenders' register for life following the trial at Manchester Crown Court.
The attacks took place in around 2004, when the victim was eight.
Police said the victim, now a teenager, only found the courage to report his ordeal after watching a Coronation Street rape storyline.
The boy told his mother about what had happened after watching the story, involving character Carla Connor, on the soap in 2011.
Bird babysat the victim several times at an address in South Manchester, and raped the child on four separate occasions over a two month period, the court heard.
Police said the child was told by Bird he wasn't allowed to tell anyone about what had happened.
'Despicable actions'
The victim, who will remain anonymous, said he initially did not want to tell his family about his experience.
He said: "I just decided to tell somebody and get it off my chest, it had been on my mind all those years, and finally I had the courage to tell someone.
"The emotions that Carla was going through reminded me of how I felt."
He added: "When I saw people supported her and believed in her, I felt that might happen to me as well."
Det Con Grace Hulse, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "It has taken an incredible amount of courage for the victim in this case to come forward and tell his family and the police what had happened to him.
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