A convicted sex offender has been sentenced to death for kidnapping and raping a nine-year-old girl before swaddling her in rubbish bags and burying her alive in his Florida garden.

A convicted sex offender was sentenced to death today for kidnapping and raping a nine-year-old girl before swaddling her in garbage bags and burying her alive in his Florida yard – crimes that led many states to enact new laws cracking down on convicted sex offenders.

A nine-year-old girl was raped, bound and buried alive, kneeling and clutching a purple stuffed dolphin, US state prosecutors said.