Former Police officer convicted and jailed for the rape and sexual activity of 6 teenage girls



A former Cleveland Police officer has been convicted and jailed for the rape and sexual activity with six teenage girls aged between 14 and 18.
David Waller of Autumn Grove, Fairfield, Stockton faced a catalogue of complaints made by several teenagers through his roles with Cleveland Police, as a flying instructor and various theatre groups between 2004 and 2016.
Jurors at Teesside Crown Court today unanimously found him guilty of 10 charges against six victims, including:
– Rape
– Sexual grooming of a child
– Sexual activity with a child
– Inciting a child into sexual activity
– Misconduct in a public judicial office
The 34-year-old, of Autumn Grove, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, has now been jailed for 12 years.
The 34-year-old shook his head slightly while the damming verdict was read out.
The court previously heard Waller was “a textbook case of grooming” after he asked an underaged girl for naked photographs, asked what her bra size was and “fondled” another teenager’s breast.
He also told one teenage girl who he met while on duty as a police officer to keep their relationship “a secret”.
Waller – dressed in a dark blue suit, white shirt and red tie – sat impassively as Judge Hedworth detailed his crimes, shaking his head gently and staring at the ground.
Middlesbrough-born Waller committed the catalogue of sex crimes while he lived in Thornaby.
First, he took an interest in an underage girl and sexually touched her on one occasion while she “froze”, not knowing how to react.
He groomed a second underage girl by sending her messages, bragging that he had a BMW, flew planes and was in the police to impress her.
He met her, collecting her from a pub car park and driving them to his home where they had sex for a short time, her first sexual experience.
The Crown said he groomed a third girl, making inappropriate comments, telling her she was beautiful and whispering that she was “sexy”.
This led to touching and rape when she was a teenager, though not underage.
She pretended to go for a sleepover at a friend’s home, but went to Waller’s.
He pushed her on to a bed, undressed her and had sex with her, despite her asking him to stop and saying he was hurting her.
He later told her not to tell anyone, said prosecutor Matthew Bean.
Waller groomed a fourth victim, an underage girl, with messages on social media which became sexualised.
Her mother discovered the messages and contacted him, and he told her: “I can assure you there’s no ill meaning to it.
“I can promise I had no sinister intentions.”
Mr Bean said Waller was “devious and manipulative” as he carried on sending sexual messages despite being warned off by the mum.
He called the girl “baby”, “gorgeous”, “princess” and “sexy girl”, at one point telling her: “I want you so bad.”
Finally he abused his position as a police constable for Cleveland Police more than a decade ago.
He went to see a woman in his capacity as an officer, they exchanged messages, met and had consensual sex.
Jurors convicted him on one count of rape, three of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, three of meeting or attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and two of sexual activity with a child.
He had met some of the girls through his work with theatre groups and as a flying instructor.
All were underage except for the teenage rape complainant.
Waller, of Autumn Grove, Fairfield, Stockton, was also slapped with an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, and must also sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.