Former police officer accused of child sex offences 'repeatedly raped victim after plying her with alcohol', court hears

Jury told ex-Cleveland Police employee David Waller ‘bragged’ about working for the force and owning a BMW to groom teenage girl

Headquarters of Cleveland Police, the force David Waller worked for between 2006 and 2010 (PA Archive / PA Images)

A former police officer who is accused of a string of sex offences against children and teenagers repeatedly raped one victim after plying her with alcohol, a court has heard.

David Waller, 33, who served with Cleveland Police between 2006 and 2010, also “bragged” about his position on the force and owning a BMW in order to groom a 14 or 15-year-old girl, a jury heard on Wednesday.

He denies a series of sex offences relating to seven alleged victims from December 2004 to April 2016, including three counts of rape and two counts of sexual activity with a child.

Teeside Crown Court heard how Mr Waller met some of his alleged victims through his role with the north east police force, as a flying instructor and through various theatre groups.

Opening the case for the prosecution on Wednesday, Matthew Bean said that Mr Waller invited a 16-year-old girl and some of her friends back to his house after a birthday party, where he gave them alcohol before eventually having sex with her, which prosecutors say was not consensual.

The jury heard how the victim alleges that she was forced into sex by the defendant on around seven occasions, having been given alcohol by him to the extent that she was regularly sick, while the then-police officer remained sober.

The prosecutor said that the incidents caused the teenager to lose weight and plunged her into what she described as a “16-year-old midlife crisis”. Mr Bean said: “On each occasion she was drunk as a result of drink he had bought her, and on each occasion he was sober and aware of what had happened.”

The court heard how one of the girls Mr Waller is alleged to have committed offences against was aged 14 or 15 when he contacted her via the MSN messaging site in order to “brag” about his position with Cleveland Police and the fact that he owned a BMW.

“She will tell you she now realises as an adult looking back that this was designed to impress her. The prosecution say you can find that the defendant was grooming her in the course of these messages.”

Mr Bean told jurors that he arranged for them to meet, and eventually invited her into his parents’ house and upstairs into his bedroom. The court was told that, despite the alleged victim attempting to make her excuses and leave, Mr Waller tried to take off her leggings before having sex with her.

Teeside Crown Court (Google Maps)

Mr Bean said that another alleged victim was raped by Mr Waller when she was 16 years of age.

At the start of their friendship, the defendant made “inappropriate” comments about her body and how “beautiful” she was, including one occasion when he whispered in her ear that he thought she was sexy, the prosecutor said, and warning her that “she shouldn’t tell anyone” about it.

The court heard that the pair eventually arranged to meet, with the alleged victim lying to her parents – allegedly at the defendant’s request – about going for a sleepover at a friend’s house.

The prosecutor said that the couple eventually went back to his house and into his bedroom, where she noticed his police uniform hanging from a wardrobe.

But it was then, Mr Bean said, that Mr Waller pushed her down, took her top off and started to have sex with her. “She asked him to stop, and his reaction was to tell her not to worry and that it would get better,” he told jurors.

Mr Bean said that, after the incident, the alleged victim grew concerned that Waller had not used protection, and eventually went with her parents to take a morning-after pill.

Mr Waller, from Stockton, denies three counts of causing or inciting underage girls to engage in sexual activity, and three of meeting or attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

He has also pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, two counts of sexual activity with a child and one of sexual assault, as well as one count of misconduct in a public office.

His trial, which is expected to last four weeks, continues.

Additional reporting by PA