Police officer charged with sexual assault of woman

A 38-year-old is due to appear before Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Stock image of a police van (Dave Thompson/PA) (PA Archive)

A police officer is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met on an online dating app.

The alleged incident is said to have happened while Pc Benjamin Mace, of Cambridgeshire Police was off-duty.

The 38-year-old is due to appear before Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with sexual assault.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it began an investigation in May 2020 following a referral from Cambridgeshire Police.

It concluded the investigation in January 2021 and submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider charges.

The CPS decided to charge Mace in January 2022, the IOPC said.