Ex-PC jailed for sexually abusing teenage girl

A former police officer has been jailed for seven years after indecently assaulting a teenage girl in the 1980s.

David Surridge, 70, was a special constable with Warwickshire Police when he began buying the girl gifts, alcohol and taking her for days out where he would sexually abuse her, police said.

The victim reported the offending in 2022 after watching a television programme about grooming.

Surridge, from Coventry, pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent assault at Warwick Crown Court on 27 September.

An investigation showed that Surridge groomed the victim before going on to sexually abuse her, Warwickshire Police said.

He later went on to become a regular office with the force.

In an interview, the victim told officers that she had blamed herself for what had happened but now realised she was in fact a victim, police said.

Det Con Heather Webb said: "The victim has shown great bravery in contacting police and supporting this investigation.

"This outcome shows that time is no barrier to delivering justice.

" I hope it gives other victims of sexual offences, no matter when they happened, the confidence to come forward."

Det Supt Paul Thompson from Warwickshire Police said that Surridge "should have been protecting vulnerable people, not exploiting them".

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