Games developer held on child sex charges

A COMPUTER games developer at the firm behind the multi-million- pound cyber-heroine Lara Croft has been charged with trying to procure a nine-year-old girl for sex.

Kenneth Lockley, 28, who works at Core Design in Derby, was arrested after he allegedly approached an undercover officer and asked him to find a girl to have sex with another unnamed person. The arrest by an officer from the Scotland Yard's paedophilia and child pornography unit took place last Wednesday at the Regent Palace Hotel, central London.

Mr Lockley had been due to attend a launch party for his company's latest Tomb Raider computer game, which again features the cyber-heroine Lara Croft. Core Design is helping police with their inquires, which are believed to include analysis of some computers at its headquarters. Mr Lockley has been suspended from his job, which he had held for about two years.

Mr Lockley, of Ashborne, Derbyshire, was charged at Horseferry Road magistrates court in London on 10 December. He was remanded in custody and will re-appear at court on Friday.

A spokeswoman for Core Design said that Mr Lockley was part of the team that develops computer games but had not worked on Tomb Raider.