A man who raped his son nine times at their family home in Waterford has been jailed for 14 years.

The 66-year-old, who cannot be named to protect his son's identity, was also sentenced today for locking him in a wooden cage-like box.

Judge Robert Eager said it was hard to imagine the effects these appalling acts of sexual abuse have had on the boy, who is now 14.

The abuse began in 2009 when he was just six and continued right up until he was taken into care when he was just shy of his eighth birthday.

The boy spent 10 days giving evidence through a live video link from the UK, where he now lives in a specialised facility.

He described one day when his father shoved him into a wooden box he had built in the garden shed.

He said he was locked in it for hours until his mother eventually released him.

In his victim impact statement, he said words had not been invented for what his father did to him, and he compared him to Adolf Hitler.

In reaching a sentence of 15 years with the final 12 months suspended, Judge Eager said the damage done was the most aggravating factor.

The boy's mother will be sentenced for child cruelty next week.