Gwent Police officer abused girl and showed her porn, court hears

John Stringer is on trial at Cardiff Crown Court

A serving Gwent police officer sexually assaulted a young girl and showed her pornography, a jury has heard.

John Stringer, 41, from Cardiff, who denies the charges, had told the young girl not to tell anyone and "it would be her fault" if his offending was discovered, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

The accused is alleged to have committed the offences while he was off-duty.

He denies five counts of sexual offences against a child under 13.

Opening the case, Ian Wright, prosecuting, told a jury of five men and seven women: "At the time of these alleged offences this defendant was a serving police officer with Gwent constabulary."

Mr Wright said the the defendant's alleged abuse came to light after the girl, who was known to him, made a disclosure to her primary school teaching assistant.

She subsequently told a staff member at her school of the officer's alleged actions and the police were alerted.

The primary school immediately notified her parents and South Wales Police, who then interviewed her on 15 July 2021.

John Stringer denies five counts of sexual offences against a child under 13

Mr Wright said: "(The girl) disclosed to the police in that video interview that she was being sexually assaulted by this defendant."

The prosecutor said the victim had told the police that the accused had touched her inappropriately and would show her pornographic videos with half-naked women in it and ask her to "mimic" the actions of the performers.

The victim told police that Mr Stringer told her that if her parents found out "it would be her fault".

The court heard how there was a break in the alleged offending due to the Covid-19 lockdowns and that when restrictions eased the sexual abuse resumed.

'Weird questions'

The jury was shown a video of the child giving a witness statement to the police four days after the final time he assaulted her.

In it she gave an account of different instances of abuse and times that Mr Stringer had touched her or tried to get her to mimic the actions in the pornographic video.

She described how she "didn't feel like doing it, but of course he forced me to do it"

She also added that Mr Stringer had told her "not to tell my parents or else he'd get in a lot of trouble".

Of the abuse, she said it was like "when people tell you to like do something that you know is wrong but they say it is right".

On a number of occasions as the video was played Mr Stringer shook his head.

During the recording the girl also said Mr Stringer had asked her "weird questions" about her relationships and sexuality education in school "about how to make babies or like what I showed you in the video" but that she had told him she was too young.

'It's a shock'

The court also heard he'd asked her if during a Covid-19 lockdown period when they hadn't seen one another she had copied the actions in the pornographic video he'd shown her.

When she said no she said he'd told her to do it and she felt "forced".

The victim was also cross-examined by the prosecution and defence in a separate, recorded court hearing which was played to the jury.

It was put to her by the defence that Mr Stringer had refuted her account of events, and said she had learned about sex from older girls instead, but she insisted she was telling the truth.

The court heard the offences are not related to his activities as a police officer.

The accused was arrested on 12 July 2021 and, after being cautioned, told the arresting officers: "It's a shock."

He was interviewed and, despite denying the girl's account, he was later charged.

Mr Stringer faces two counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, two counts of causing or inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of causing a child to watch or look at an image of sexual activity under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

The trial continues.