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A policeman accused of raping a girl wiped his phone, a court has heard. Hertfordshire Police response officer James Ford, 31, has been charged with five offences.
The alleged offences span late 2019 to 2021. Mr Ford, formerly of Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, denies the charges.
The charges include two counts of raping a child under 13; one count of assaulting a child under 13 by penetration and one count of sexual assault against a child under 13 by touching.
The prosecution also alleges Mr Ford carried out an act or series of acts intended to pervert the course of justice.
He is accused of “deliberately” wiping his phone by factory resetting his Samsung mobile.
Prosecutor Isobel Ascherson told jurors at Cambridge Crown Court that in a police interview Mr Ford had denied the alleged offences.
She explained that at first he told police officers the resetting of his phone had been accidental, but Mr Ford later said he reset it because he was having an affair with a woman.
The trial continues. It is expected to last up to eight days.
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