Thomas William Johnston, 53, was found guilty at trial of charges of using a child to produce pornography and administering a stupefying or overpowering drug, poison or injurious substance likely to endanger life or cause grievous bodily harm.

He also pleaded guilty to deliberately possessing child pornography.

Johnston, who knew the victim's family, knocked the girl unconscious with chloroform at his home in November 2009.

She woke up in a different part of the house and still felt nauseous the next day.

She later told her mother and police a similar incident had occurred in May that year.

Police raided Johnston’s home and seized a bottle of chloroform and 1151 child pornography images on electronic devices.

Two images taken on his mobile phone depicted a naked child – the girl’s two-year-old sister.

Justice John Burns, when sentencing Johnston in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday, noted the impact the crimes had had on the victim and her family.

A sentencing hearing last month heard the victim had gone from being a bubbly and outgoing girl to a recluse who suffered from depression, anxiety, and nightmares.

Johnston continued to maintain he did not know the liquid he used had been chloroform.

A presentence report found Johnston had shown no awareness of the impact of his crime on the victim or her family, and no regard for the abuse of trust.

The court heard the report author found his absence or deflection of responsibility for the offences to be disturbing.

An assessment report for the adult sex offender program noted Johnston was sexually deviant, with a sexual attraction to female children and sleep or hypnosis sexual assault scenarios.

Justice Burns said the facts revealed criminality of the highest order.

“You showed utter disregard for the safety and well-being of an eight-year-old child you had known since birth, and who considered you part of a family," Justice Burns said.

“Your moral culpability with respect to these offences is very high."

Justice Burns was pessimistic about Johnston's prospects of rehabilitation due to the continued denials and conduct minimisation.

He said deterrence and punishment were the most important factors in sentencing, and nothing less than a hefty jail term could achieve those objectives.

“In my opinion there is a real risk of you reoffending, which requires me to pass a sentence sufficient to deter you from offending of this nature.”

The judge sentenced Johnston to 10 years jail, backdated to take into account time already served, with a non-parole period of seven years.

Johnston will eligible for release in December, 2019.

“I recommend to the Sentence Administration Board that it carefully consider your progress in custody, particularly in relation to undergoing the adult sex offender program, and any other appropriate programs offered in the AMC, when it considers any application for your release on parole,” he said.