Former police officer jailed for sexual abuse of girl

A former police officer from Cardiff, who sexually abused a girl under the age of 13, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

John Stringer, 43, was found guilty of five counts of sexual abuse at a trial at Cardiff Crown Court in September.

After his conviction, Stringer was dismissed from Gwent Police and barred from policing for life.

Stringer was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault by touching and one charge of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was also found guilty of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch a sexual act.

Self-harming

In a personal victim statement, the court was told the girl started self-harming after the abuse and was “desperate to remove the feeling” of Stringer’s hands on her body.

Her family said “no matter how many times we told her she was loved, she won’t believe us”.

The court heard she also had suicidal thoughts and had been taken to accident and emergency on many occasions, with the family scared she would take her own life.

Judge Daniel Williams described Stringer’s attempts to convince a jury of his innocence as”odious and cynical”.

A judge said John Stringer used his status as a police officer to conceal his offending.

‘Heartbreaking’

Judge Williams said it had been “heartbreaking” for the court to hear of the impact the abuse had on the girl.

Stringer was told “your status as a police officer enabled you to conceal your motives and offending”.

Temporary Chief Constable Mark Hobrough from Gwent Police said: “Former officer John Stringer was convicted of these despicable crimes by a jury and has been dismissed from our service due to his sickening actions.

“My thoughts go out to the victim in this case who has shown tremendous courage coming forward and reporting. We hope that the sentence will give them a sense of justice and help them in the process of moving forward with their lives.

“Stringer has not only broken the oath of a police officer, but he has also betrayed his colleagues and the community he was meant to serve.

“I know this case will impact the confidence that victims of sexual assault feel in coming forward to report to us. Stringer made his victim feel like she would not be believed, a common tactic of perpetrators of sexual abuse, but we hope that the outcome of this case shows that all reports of sexual assault will be taken seriously.

“There is no place in our organisation or our society for perpetrators of sexual abuse. Stringer’s actions do not reflect the values of our staff, many of whom work tirelessly to support victims and bring perpetrators of child sexual abuse to justice.”

Det Sgt Annalisa Bartley from South Wales Police, the investigating force, said she hoped the outcome of the trial will help the victim “continue the process of recovering from this ordeal”.

“The victim in this case was incredibly brave and stoic in speaking out and helping to bring John Stringer to justice,” she said.