A 44-year-old man has been found guilty of raping a schoolgirl and careless driving in Ipswich.

Before Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday was Francois Havenga, of no fixed address.

He was found guilty of two offences of raping a child and an offence of driving an Audi A3 on the A140 at Brockford and Spinner Close in Ipswich carelessly.

The jury found him not guilty of the original dangerous driving charge and instead gave the alternative verdict of careless driving.

It was alleged that when Havenga was suspected of the child rape offences he sent a text message saying he was sorry and that he was “going to carry on driving until he ran out of road”.

Police were alerted and officers tried to stop Havenga on the A140 but he had sped off and had allegedly driven dangerously on the A140 and in Ipswich before decamping from his car and fleeing on foot, said Jo Morris, prosecuting.

Following his arrest, Havenga denied raping a schoolgirl and he also denied having a sexual interest in children.

He chose not to give evidence during his trial, which started last week.

Havenga will be sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on September 13 of this year.