CHESHIRE Police's Acting Chief Constable has condemned the behaviour of former officer Ian Naude who used his position with the force to gain access to vulnerable young girls.

On Thursday, a jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Naude guilty of rape and sexual assault, as well as four charges of attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence and one charge of arranging a child sex offence, relating to five complainants aged between 12 and 15.

Cheshire Constabulary's acting chief Janette McCormick said lessons had been applied to the force's recruitment, vetting and training policy in the wake of Naude's actions.

The Acting Chief Constable said: "Ian Naude submitted his application to join Cheshire Constabulary on 23 April 2016 and vetting checks were carried out in October, which included checks on national police systems, and nothing adverse was reported.

"He was originally due to start as a student officer in January 2017, but this intake was delayed until 24 April 2017.

"Cheshire Constabulary became aware of an allegation of rape of a woman in Staffordshire relating to Naude and put the recruitment process for him to become a police officer on hold pending the outcome of this. No further action was taken and a decision was made by the vetting department to allow the recruitment process to continue.

"On 3 November 2017, parents of a teenage girl raised concerns to Cheshire Constabulary about Naude’s behaviour. He was arrested the following day and immediately suspended from duty.

"As the investigation into the allegations about Naude’s conduct progressed it was revealed that he was a named suspect in a further report to Staffordshire Police and one to West Mercia Police in January and February 2017.

"These reports became part of Cheshire Constabulary’s subsequent investigation into Naude.

"Naude’s recruitment process was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). They carried out a review that included the decision to recruit him after he had been named as a suspect in the rape allegation in Staffordshire. The IOPC found that there were no issues with the vetting process as the national vetting policy had been followed.

"In light of this case, the Constabulary has looked long and hard at its own recruitment and screening programme for new recruits to see whether this type of incident can be avoided in the future.

"The national vetting policy (now the Vetting Code of Practice) states that there is no time frame as to when somebody is vetted before joining a police force. However, Cheshire Constabulary has now changed its vetting processes. If there is a delay in the recruitment process of more than three months, once a person has been vetted, the force will carry out further checks on the national police systems.

"Furthermore, checks on the national police systems and complaints records of all officers who are reaching the completion of their probation period of two years are now undertaken.

"All training of new staff has been reviewed with additional inputs on conduct and awareness of recognising the triggers of what constitutes inappropriate behaviour as well as the internal reporting channels available. Any concerns raised about an officer or member of staff’s behaviour now prompts an immediate vetting review and appropriate action taken depending on the circumstances.

"Cheshire Constabulary has also liaised extensively with external agencies who deal with vulnerable individuals to ensure they know how to report any inappropriate behaviour of officers and staff of the force.

"Unfortunately, as the investigation into Ian Naude unfolded, it became clear that he did not join Cheshire Constabulary because he wanted serve the public as a police officer – he joined because it gave him a position of authority with access to young, vulnerable girls."

Ian Naude, who was working as a student officer for Cheshire Police at the time of the assault in October 2017, was described during the two-week trial as a "selfish and cruel paedophile" who was obsessed with taking the virginity of teenage girls and joined the force with the intention of meeting vulnerable victims.

Following the guilty verdict, Detective Chief Superintendent Aaron Duggan said: “It was Ian Naude’s job to enforce the law and protect the most vulnerable from harm. Instead he did the opposite and abused his position as a student police constable and used the power he had in that role to manipulate a young girl and take advantage of her, raping her in his car. As if that wasn’t bad enough he filmed part of what happened on his mobile phone.

“His behaviour was disgusting and the impact was devastating. I cannot begin to imagine what the victim has had to go through – first disclosing what happened to her and then having to relive the details during the trial.

“The courage and bravery that she has shown is nothing short of remarkable and I only hope that she can begin in some way to rebuild her life now that Naude has been convicted.”

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.