Victims of pedophile officer say no longer trust British police
Police in the United Kingdom have come under fresh public criticism for its lax controls on recruitment of staff after an officer was found guilty of repeatedly raping teenagers who were seeking his protection.
Weeping and crying, victims and their families told judges at the Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday that they no longer trust the police after it was found that Ian Naude, a pedophile officer working for the Cheshire Constabulary, in northern England, had sexually abused and filmed his victims when they were seeking his help.
“I keep thinking I didn't keep my daughter safe enough. Sometimes I break down and cry. I feel I have lost trust in the police,” said one mother, whose young girl had been attacked by Naude.
Another father said he could no longer allow his daughter out of sight after she was abused by the police officer.
“I want to wrap her in cotton wool and never let her out of my sight again. If you can't trust a police officer who can you trust,” said the father in a statement to the court.
The grievances come against the backdrop of reports showing that Naude had joined the police force in Cheshire just three months after a neighboring force had named him as a suspect in a rape investigation.
His trial in Liverpool also began as judges understood that the officer was also under investigation for child sex offences by two forces, namely Staffordshire and West Mercia.
Cheshire police said it was only “an administrative error” that led to the deletion of emails containing details of Naude’s forthcoming arrest.
However, victims said the officer had ruined their lives and families said their children had committed repeated acts of self-harm after being sexually abused by Naude.
In its Thursday ruling, the court sentenced Naude, the father-of-one, to 25 years in jail for a series of sexual offences against young girls. The most abhorrent of the charges against the officer, who was described by the prosecutors as a “cold, uncaring and cruel pedophile”, was raping a 13-year-old three days after visiting her house to investigate a domestic incident.
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