Gwent Police officer accused of abuse was trusted, court told
- Published
John Stringer is on trial at Cardiff Crown Court
A Gwent Police officer accused of assaulting a girl and showing her pornography was "trusted" by her parents, a jury has heard.
John Stringer, 41, from Cardiff, is accused of five counts of sexual abuse of a girl under 13, which he denies.
At Cardiff Crown Court, the girl's father said his daughter described conversations with Mr Stringer in which he would tell her he was "lonely".
The girl's mother said Mr Stringer told the girl he wanted a girlfriend.
Giving evidence on the second day of the trial, the father told prosecutor Ian Wright: "There has been occasions where she has come to us and said how John has told her things about his private life that we thought were a little bit not quite right for a young girl.
"(She) told us how John told her that he was lonely."
He was also asked by the prosecution if he trusted Mr Stringer.
"We did, yes," the complainant's father said.
The girl's mother also told the jury: "She would say that he'd said he wanted a girlfriend and that he missed his previous partner.
"She would say to me that he would chat to her about his loneliness and that... he was lonely without a girlfriend, and I would say you don't need to have those conversations it's not really appropriate.
"I would query why an adult will tell a small child that they were lonely," she added.
The parents said that although they felt uncomfortable hearing about the conversations between their daughter and the defendant they did not confront him.
The court previously heard how the allegations came to light after the girl made a disclosure to a teaching assistant.
In a statement written by the aide and read to the court by Mr Wright, the teaching assistant said the girl had approached her in the playground and told her: "John sits next to me and puts a blanket over me and puts his hand here."
"She said he showed her videos as well," the statement added.
"I did not ask any leading questions but I did ask her if she had told her mum and dad and she said she hadn't.
"I asked how long it had been going on for and she said 'quite a while'."
The jury previously watched the girl's interview with police, during which she told an officer that Mr Stringer had touched her inappropriately and would show her pornographic videos with half-naked women in them and ask her to "mimic" the actions of the performers.
She told them there had been a break in the alleged offending during two of the Covid-19 lockdowns and the abuse resumed when restrictions eased.
A transcript of Mr Stringer's police interview was read to the court by Mr Wright and the officer in the case Det Con Abbie Voice.
The final witness of the day was a friend of the defendant's who said she had known him for 24 years but had lost contact with him for a time when he moved to New Zealand to play rugby.
The woman, who works as a mental health care practitioner, told the court: "He's always been quieter. He's always been a private man.
"He's very focused and motivated and very into his sports."
She added she had "no concern at all" about Mr Stringer's behaviour around children.
Mr Stringer denies two counts of sexual assault by touching, two counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and one count of causing a child to watch a sexual act and are said to have taken place between December 2019 and July 2021.
The trial continues.