(CMR) James Ford, an intervention officer for Hertfordshire Police, was found guilty of committing 10 sexual offenses against the same girl, including four counts of rape and four of sexual assault. He was sentenced to 18 years and three months in prison on Friday, 21 October.
Reports are that Ford (31), described as a predatory sex offender, raped the child, who is under 13 years old, before wiping his phone to hide evidence
The offenses took place throughout his three-year career with Hertfordshire Police and came to light after the victim revealed what had happened to her father. It took less than a day for jurors to find the Hertfordshire Police officer guilty following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court.
He was also found guilty of the intent to pervert the course of justice after restoring his mobile phone to its factory settings in order to wipe its memory and storage.
Ford had denied all the offenses, which took place between 1 December 2019 – the same month he joined the force – and 17 October 2021. He was suspended from duties in November last year and an investigation was launched by neighboring force Cambridgeshire Police.
Detective Inspector Susie Hine, who leads Cambridgeshire Police's child abuse investigation unit, said: “Cases of this nature are both disgusting and upsetting and I want to reassure the public there is no place for an offender to hide no matter who they are.”
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