• James Ford was found guilty of 10 sexual offences against the same child.
• He was sentenced to 18 years and three months in prison for his crimes.
• The judge referred to Ford as a ‘disgrace’ before sentencing him.

A judge has referred to an active police officer who raped a child as a “disgrace” before sending him to jail for his crime.

James Ford, an intervention officer with the Hertfordshire Police, was found guilty of perpetrating 10 sexual offences against the same girl. All of the offences were committed against the same victim.

The case was described as a “horrific catalogue of serious sexual misconduct against a small child” by the judge who presided over it.

Ford, a resident of Bishop’s Stortford in the past, was sentenced to 18 years and 3 months in prison.

The judge explained that following the punishment, Ford would have a 12-month licence suspension for an extended amount of time.

Ford was also found guilty of carrying out an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice, in that he “deliberately wiped his phone” by performing a factory reset. This led to the court concluding that he did so with the intention of obstructing the administration of justice.

The judge stated that the jury was satisfied that Ford had deleted all of the evidence from his phone because he “knew or suspected material pertaining to the offences” was on it.

According to him, this was consistent with the girl’s evidence that Ford was “pointing (his) phone at her while acts of sexual abuse were going on.” He said this was consistent with the girl’s evidence.

Four counts of raping a child under the age of 13, two counts of assaulting a child under the age of 13 by penetration, two counts of sexual assault against a child under the age of 13, and two counts of causing or inciting a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity were all found guilty by the jury.

Ford was a uniformed response officer for Hertfordshire Police and was stationed in the eastern part of the county when he joined the force in 2019.

In November of 2021, he was taken off duty.

Mr. Justice Bryan referred to Ford’s “appalling pattern of sexual wrongdoing,” which he said “very much spans the whole time during which you have been a serving police officer.” The sentencing took place on Friday.

He remarked, “Of all persons, you as a serving police officer should have safeguarded society against sexual abusers and not have acted as a perpetrator of such horrible crimes yourself.” “As a working police officer, you of all people should have defended society against sexual abusers.”

“You are a disgrace to your office, and your behaviour casts a shade over the many instances in which valiant officers behave with honour and decency, and demand the utmost respect from the general public.”

In a statement that was read by the prosecution, the mother of the victim called Ford a “disgusting excuse of a human being.” She also said that “no prison sentence is ever going to be long enough for what happened.”

A restraining order and a sexual harm prevention order were both issued against Ford in regard to the girl. Both orders prohibited Ford from having any contact with her.

After his conviction, Assistant Chief Constable Genna Telfer stated that she was “disgusted” by Ford’s activities and warned him that he would face a fast-track dismissal process if he did not correct his behaviour.

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