West Yorkshire Police officer on trial accused of raping young girl when he was a youth
Jury told that he warned her to keep silent
A police officer groomed and sexually abused a young girl when he was himself a child, a court has heard.
The girl was just four when Marcus Newbold began to abuse her, the jury was told on the first day of his trial at Leeds Crown Court today.
The 29-year-old denies seven offences - one of rape of a child, three of sexual assault of a child, one of assaulting a child by penetration and two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Newbold, who lives in the Wakefield area but worked as a constable in Kirklees, is accused of abusing the child in the late 2000s.
He was around 12-years-old when he is accused of first targeting the girl, prosecutor Eddison Flint told the court.
The girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said Newbold would suggest “playing games” which involved the abuse, Mr Flint said.
He allegedly told her it was “their little secret”, and suggested it would be her that gets into trouble if anyone found out.
The girl said she even felt like she had done something wrong when the abuse stopped.
She only told another person about Newbold when she was 16, but no action was taken, the jury heard.
A number of years later she told a second person about her experiences and Newbold was confronted.
It is claimed he, at that point, acknowledged that “something had gone on”, Mr Flint added.
Newbold, of Lime Close, Normanton, attended a voluntary police interview in October 2022 where he denied any sexual activity had taken place.
He was suspended from duty at West Yorkshire Police after the allegations were first made.
The trial, which is expected to last five days, continues.