PC Christopher Semak, 33, has received a six year jail sentence for sexually abusing a 14 year old girl.
It emerged that the married officer began an 18 month relationship with the girl and exchanged hundreds of “sexually explicit” text messages. He also acknowledged that he could be jailed if their affair was discovered.
One text message from Semak read:
“I could even go to prison because you are 14. It would make me as bad as the people I am trying to stop. It would make me as bad as a paedophile.”
Semak pleaded not guilty at Stafford crown court, claiming the girl had initially asked him for advice and then threatened to falsely inform the police that they had sex prompting him to “stupidly” respond to her texts.
In a statement he said:
“I feared she would make a false allegation if I did not respond in this way.”
However prosecutor David Jackson said the girl’s parents had discovered the messages on her mobile.
He said:
“It was obvious to them (the girl’s parents) that, in their minds, sexual activity was taking place between the two people exchanging the messages and that sexual activity had already taken place.”
Det Supt Tim Bacon confirmed that:
“He groomed the victim for his own gratification. His actions were disgraceful.”
Semak was arrested in January 2012 after the victim told a teacher at her school, which led to the involvement of child protection officials and the police. Semak had not been suspended until April 2012.
In a video interview with a public protection officer the victim insisted that she had been pressured into sex by Semak and added that she felt “used”.
Along with his six year sentence he will now also be banned from working with children and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life, although realistically he will most likely only serve half his sentence and be out in three years for good behaviour. So thank you government, for thoughtfully overcrowding our prisons.