A STUDENT police officer has been found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl he first met while on duty.
Ian Naude, 30, was convicted today following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
Father-of-one Naude, who has been dismissed from Cheshire Constabulary in England, is due to be sentenced on December 13.
The court heard how Naude, who previously served with the Royal Irish Regiment in Afghanstan, filmed part of the assault on the girl.
The police investigation also uncovered electrical devices belonging to Naude containing indecent images of children and revealed that he had been scouring the internet in search of young girls.
During the investigation 38 further charges were brought against Naude relating to nine victims aged between 12 and 19.
During previous court appearances Naude had pleaded guilty to 31 of the 38 charges.
Filmed assault
Naude, of Market Drayton in Shropshire, England joined Cheshire Constabulary in April 2017 and was based at Crewe Local Policing Unit with a tutor constable.
It was here while on duty that he came into contact with the 13-year-old girl after being called to an incident at her home.
Within 24 hours he groomed her, encouraged her to send him indecent images of herself and on October 25, 2017 – after clocking off duty for the afternoon – went to her house to meet her.
He drove her to a secluded spot on nearby waste ground where he sexually assaulted her and then raped her – filming part of what happened on his mobile phone.
The girl’s parents raised their concerns with police on November 3, 2017 and Naude was arrested and charged the following day.
He was later dismissed from the force at a special hearing.
'Disgusting'
Following today’s guilty verdict Detective Chief Superintendent Aaron Duggan said: “It was Ian Naude’s job to enforce the law and protect the most vulnerable from harm.
“Instead he did the opposite and abused his position as a student police constable and used the power he had in that role to manipulate a young girl and take advantage of her, raping her in his car.
“As if that wasn’t bad enough he filmed part of what happened on his mobile phone.
“His behaviour was disgusting and the impact was devastating.”
Indecent images
The court heard that during the course of the investigation, electronic devices belonging to Naude were seized and found to contact a large collection of indecent images and videos of children.
It later became clear that Naude had been scouring the internet in search of young girls.
He used two alter egos – Bruce Ian Wayne and Jake Green – and an image of a young man on his profile.
He would approach girls on social media platforms and start with ‘Hi, you look pretty and interesting’.
However he would quickly progress to conversations littered with sexual language before demanding nude images, threatening to expose the girl to her friends if she refused.
Naude also sent the girls explicit photographs and videos of himself and would make them call him ‘Daddy’.
Detective Chief Superintendent Duggan added: “As soon as the allegations came to light Naude was suspended from the force and has been dismissed as an officer.
“There is no place in the police service for people like Naude.”
