Policeman, 31, accused of raping young girl five times before wiping his phone
11 October 2022, 08:53
A policeman accused of raping a young girl five times deliberately wiped his phone, a court heard.
James Ford, a response officer for Hertfordshire Police, has been charged with ten counts of sex offences against the same girl between 2019 and 2021.
The charges include four counts of rape of a child under 13, two of assaulting a child under 13 by penetration, two of sexual assault against a child under 13 and two of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity. Mr Ford, 31, has denied the charges.
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Prosecutors at Cambridge Crown Court also allege Mr Ford, formerly of Bishop's Stortford, did an act intended to pervert the course of justice when he "deliberately wiped his phone by factory resetting his Samsung mobile phone".
Prosecutor Isobel Ascherson said he initially told police his phone reset had been "accidental", but later told them "he reset it because he was having an affair" with a woman.
The trial, which is expected to last seven to eight days, continues.
