The grim basement room, dubbed the “pen”, was where vile Ambiorix Rodriguez raped the child up to 40 times.

He has been jailed for 20 years to life for sexually assaulting the child at the Middle School for Marketing and Legal Studies in New York.

The victim, now aged 20, is suing the city and the Department for Education for failing to act on warnings about Rodriguez including two arrests, according to papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

She also claims the school knew about the sex lair, the documents state.

The small space was accessed through a locked door and had a gaping hole in the ceiling.

Pictures show mould on the wall next to couches, a television, DVD player, refrigerator and weights.

Lawyer James Monroe, who represents the victim, described the basement den as "right out of a horror movie".

He told the NY Daily News: "It's perfectly clear that the Department of Education was well aware that Mr Rodriguez was a problem and a threat to the children entrusted to the school's care.

“It's taken our client many years to collect the strength and maturity to confront what happened to her.”

Court papers state that Rodriguez was arrested twice for marijuana possession in 2003 and 2007.

The court documents also include a statement from Rodriguez where he once told detectives after being arrested “I’m a heavy drinker and smoke weed, and need lots of help”.

He was suspended from his job between 2004 and 2007 but later returned to work.

Now Rodriguez is banned from working in city schools after the rape conviction.

“These crimes happened because school officials allowed them to happen,”, claimed New York City Parents Union President Mona Davids.