Former police constable from Market Drayton jailed for raping teenage girl

Ian Naude was today sentenced to 25 years in prison and five years on licence - following a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court.

Judge Clement Goldstone QC told the 30-year-old, who has been dismissed from Cheshire Constabulary, that he was a cold, uncaring paedophile and a very dangerous man.

Following sentencing, Detective Inspector Kate Tomlinson, the Senior Investigating Officer for this case, said: “Ian Naude is a sexual predator of the most evil kind. He joined Cheshire Police with the sole purpose of gaining a position of trust so he could prey on young, vulnerable girls. His behaviour and actions were truly appalling and the sentence handed down to him today reflects that.

“I have worked on this investigation for the past 12 months alongside a dedicated team of officers and staff. It has been a long, complex and very challenging investigation. Never would I have imagined that I would be investigating a police officer and for such horrendous crimes.

“It was Ian Naude’s job to enforce the law and protect people from harm. Instead, he became the most dangerous of predators and betrayed the very people he swore to protect.

“The details of this case are hard enough for someone like me - a police officer with 24 years’ service - to hear. For the victims who had to go through it – it has left them completely traumatised.

“I want to acknowledge the incredible bravery that these young girls have shown – especially the 13-year-old girl who found the courage to come forward and disclose that Naude had raped her in his car.”

Naude joined Cheshire Constabulary in April 2017 and, following a period of training, he was based at Crewe Local Policing Unit with a tutor constable.

It was here whilst on duty that he came into contact with a 13-year-old girl after being called to an incident at her home.

The incident did not involve the teenager directly but, over a 24-hour period, he groomed her, encouraged her to send him indecent images of herself and on 25 October – after clocking off duty for the afternoon – he went to her house to meet her.

The girl got into his car and 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 3 November 2017 and Naude was swiftly identified as the suspect.

The force took immediate action to investigate the allegation. He was arrested the following day and was immediately suspended from duty.

Naude was subsequently charged on 4 November 2017 with seven offences relating to the one victim and he was remanded into custody. He was later dismissed from the force at a special hearing.

The court heard that during the course of the investigation a number of electronic devices belonging to Naude were seized and examined. These revealed a large collection of indecent images and videos of children.

As detectives began to piece together the case it became clear that Naude had been scouring the internet in search of young girls – using two alter egos (Bruce Ian Wayne and Jake Green) and an image of a young man on his profile to incite his victims.

He would approach them via social media platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat and Kik. His user name on Snapchat was ‘King of the North’. He would always start with ‘Hi, you look pretty and interesting’ before moving quickly onto a simple ‘question and answer’ game, progressing to conversations littered with flirtatious and sexual language.

He would quickly demand nude images and threaten to expose the girl to her friends if she refused. He was extremely persistent exploiting the obvious vulnerabilities of his victims.

When communicating with the girls Naude would make them call him ‘Daddy’.

He also sent the girls explicit photographs and videos of himself. In court it was heard that he also attempted to meet up with the girls face-to-face.

As the investigation unravelled further charges were brought against Naude – 38 in total. These related to nine victims aged between 12 and 19.

During previous court appearances Naude had pleaded guilty to 31 of the 38 charges – these included two offences of misconduct in a public office.

On 15 November he was found guilty of 7 offences relating to 6 girls aged 12-15. These included rape of a 13-year-old girl, sexual assault against a 13-year-old girl and arranging or attempting to meet girls under the age of 16 to commit a S9 offence of the Sexual Offences Act.

Parents of the 13-year-old girl release a statement

Following sentencing today, the parents of the 13-year-old girl released a statement.

They said: “On 3 November 2017 the lives of our family changed forever when we discovered what had happened to our young, innocent, 13-year-old daughter.

“Now, 12 months later, we still cannot comprehend what took place following the night when, in a time of need, we contacted Cheshire Police for help. Ian Naude, a serving police officer, answered that call for help however, he abused our faith and trust in him as a police officer by going on to groom and rape our daughter. He entered our house, which felt at that time like a safe haven for our family, and has effectively destroyed that feeling.

“We do not know the long-term effects this will have on our daughter. We still cannot explain to her why this horrific and sickening abuse happened to her. We worry about how she will cope in the future, particularly when it comes the time for her to have intimate relationships based on trust and love.

“We worry about how we will protect our daughter in the future and feel that we cannot give her the freedom she once had as a confident and growing child for her own protection which is very saddening.

“There are no words to even begin to explain the pain, hurt and anger we have felt and are still feeling as a direct result of that vile and despicable man. He has destroyed our lives, our family and, most of all, the innocence of our daughter, something we will never come to terms with or understand.”