He was remanded in custody by magistrate John Lesser until January 27 charged with 87 sex and pornography offences.

They include nine counts of rape and claims he committed indecent acts, manufactured child pornography and procured a child for child pornography.

The man, aged in his 30s, cannot be named because it may identify the victim.

Detective Senior Constable Andrew Raven, of the Warrnambool police sex offences and child abuse investigation team, said it was alleged the man repeatedly raped the girl between 2007 and 2009 when she was aged between nine and 11 years old. He said the man allegedly used a mobile phone to record himself performing sexual acts with the victim.

He also said the victim’s mother saw the video clips and showed them to others, but an initial police investigation did not lead to charges.

Detective Senior Constable Raven said the victim was told by the man that if she told anyone she would be bashed.

He slapped her and when she told her mother what was going on the man got a piece of wood with a nail in it and tried to hit the girl to the head — cutting her finger when she put a hand up to protect herself. 

Police also alleged the man drugged the girl’s sister so he could get access to the victim.

In late September the man was investigated in relation to possessing child exploitation material. On October 13 his home was raided by police and computer storage devices containing 81 images and six videos were seized. 

The girl identified herself in the images but the man denied he was in the videos or that he took them, claiming they had been mailed to him or had been planted. 

The accused said he only copied the material from one device to another to try and work out who had set him up.

Detective Senior Constable Raven said another search warrant was executed yesterday and the man made full admissions to his offending.

In opposing bail the police officer said the man had previously attempted to self-harm, he had a history of offending and the allegations against him had led to threats of reprisals.

The man told the court that the charges relating to the period between 2007 and 2009 “were about love” and he needed to be out on bail so he could get the help he needed. He said he lost his job three days after police began investigating him and he suffered depression, ADHD and was possibly bipolar.

The offending, if proven, also breached a five-month previously suspended jail sentence.

The magistrate refused bail, saying he was extremely concerned about the accused man’s mental health and the potential for self-harm.

He said that due to the nature of the charges and the man’s admissions, the accused now faced a considerable prison sentence.