Policeman accused of raping child 'joined force to target girls'
A police officer accused of the rape and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl joined the force to exploit vulnerable girls, a court has heard.
Ian Naude, 30, of Market Drayton, was working as a constable for Cheshire Police at the same time as operating as a “prolific internet groomer”, his trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard.
Owen Edwards, prosecuting, said Naude had been called to an incident in October 2017 when he took down the details of a 13-year-old girl.
Three days later he returned and picked the girl up before taking her to a quiet spot in his car where he allegedly raped and sexually assaulted her, recording some of the incident on his mobile phone.
The court heard Naude had admitted charges of sexual intercourse and sexual activity with a child but claimed it was consensual.
More from the trial:
Mr Edwards told the court: “She had been groomed by a police officer who was experienced in the art of manipulating, pressuring and even blackmailing young girls into performing sexual acts for his perverted pleasure.”
The hearing was told a police investigation which started after the girl reported the alleged assault to her family, discovered it was the “tip of the iceberg” of Naude’s alleged offending.
“Naude is a committed paedophile who had been targeting young girls on the internet for a considerable period,” Mr Edwards said.
“Shockingly it emerged that he had joined the police with the intention of exploiting the access he would gain to vulnerable young girls.”
The police officer, who has admitted a number of child sex offences, would gain their trust by posing as a 15-year-old boy called Jake Green, the court heard.
He would persuade his victims to undress and sometimes perform sexual acts on camera before sending them pictures and sexual videos of himself.
As well as denying rape and sexual assault, Naude denies four charges of attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence and one charge of arranging a child sex offence, relating to five complainants aged between 12 and 15.
Mr Edwards said: “His defence is that there were limits to his depravity, you will have to decide where the truth lies.”
As well as admitting sexual activity with a child, Naude has pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, 14 counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, one count of taking indecent photos of a child, four counts of making indecent photos of a child, six counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act, two counts of misconduct in a public office and one count of possessing indecent photos of a child.
The trial is expected to last about three weeks.
