Ex-Kent police officer, 61, who raped vulnerable girl, 16, after meeting her online using the name 'British Bobby' and invited a friend to rape her as he filmed attack is jailed for 21 years
A former Kent police officer who subjected an ‘extremely vulnerable’ teenager to a series of rapes after he met her on social media using the name ‘British Bobby’ has been jailed for 21 years.
Mark Lindow, who worked for Kent Police for 14 years and had dealt with border control at the Channel Tunnel, ‘sexually exploited and groomed’ the 16-year-old girl against a background of ‘blackmail and threats’ after she shared nude photos of herself online, a court heard.
On one occasion the 61-year-old invited a friend - Kurt Baker - to join them at a Travelodge in what the prosecution described as a ‘quid pro quo’ for Lindow having had sex with a partner of Baker’s on an earlier occasion.
Baker, 39, then raped the girl, who has learning difficulties, while being filmed by married father of two Lindow.
Lindow, of Folkestone, Kent, was found guilty of five counts of rape, one of making an indecent photo of a child and one of distributing an indecent photo, all committed between January and August last year.
Ahead of his trial, he admitted two counts of making indecent photos of a child.
Baker, of Gravesend, Kent, was convicted of three counts of rape committed on August 7 last year, and was jailed for 12 years.
Mark Lindow (pictured), of Folkestone, Kent, was found guilty of five counts of rape, one of making an indecent photo of a child and one of distributing an indecent photo, all committed between January and August last year
On one occasion the 61-year-old invited a friend - Kurt Baker (pictured) - to join him and his victim at a Travelodge in what the prosecution described as a ‘quid pro quo’ for Lindow having had sex with a partner of Baker’s on an earlier occasion. Baker, 39, then raped the girl, who has learning difficulties, while being filmed by married father of two Lindow
Horrific details of the victim's ordeal came to light after a member of the public alerted police to a female walking into the River Medway in Chatham, Kent, in August last year.
Having been found in a distressed state, she subsequently revealed that Lindow, who is 6ft 2in and 17st, had repeatedly abused her and even filmed himself raping her during their very first meeting.
Maidstone Crown Court heard Lindow had initially spoken to his victim through the Kik platform on which the former cop, who had left the force in 2015, used the names ‘Bobby’ and ‘Britishbobby50’.
The ‘vulnerable and naive’ teenager told police he not only forced her to have sex with him on several occasions but was violent if she refused.
He also referred to her as his ‘slave’, left love bites on her breasts, and said he wanted her to tell people he ‘owned’ her.
At Lindow's sentencing hearing on Friday, Judge Julian Smith was told Lindow had also been investigated over allegations he engaged in sexual communication on Kik with someone he believed to be a 12-year-old girl but was in fact ‘a decoy’ police officer.
However, the court heard when Lindow was identified by his Skype username and told he would be arrested and his phone seized, he attended a police station and handed it over, saying he had accidentally run over it in his car.
Prosecutor Daniel Stevenson said while no further action was taken, the allegations should be considered by the court when assessing whether Lindow posed a significant risk of serious harm to the public.
Baker was arrested as a result of images of his distinctive tattoos, taken from the footage on Lindow’s phone, being released by Kent Police in a media appeal.
Lindow worked for Kent Police for 14 years and had dealt with border control at the Channel Tunnel before leaving the force in 2015
Baker, of Gravesend, Kent, was convicted of three counts of rape committed on August 7 last year, and was jailed for 12 years
Both men claimed after their arrests they believed her to be 17 or 18 years old, and that she had consented to all sexual activity. However, the prosecutor told the jury of nine men and three women that her ‘unquestionable vulnerability and naivety was clear to see’
Judge Smith said the victim, having been subjected to ‘corruption and brutalisation’, was then ‘deliberately targeted and controlled’ by Lindow.
He added that the teenager’s extreme vulnerabilities would have been ‘overwhelmingly obvious’ as he ‘dominated, intimidated and degraded’ her, including ‘offering’ her to Baker.
Judge Smith said: 'Neither saw her as a human being but as an opportunity for sexual gratification.'
The judge concluded Lindow posed a danger to the public and ordered him to serve at least two thirds of his 21 year jail term before he can apply for parole.
When released, he will then have an additional five years added to any licence period.
At their trial in September, Mr Stevenson told the court the teenager became the victim of a ‘concerted campaign of child sexual exploitation, humiliation and blackmail’ after she had shared explicit photos and videos of herself online.
She was threatened that she would be exposed if she did not supply more explicit footage.
The prosecutor said although those responsible had not been identified, one of them had ‘introduced’ Lindow to the girl in late 2019.
But instead of helping her, he treated her as his ‘sexual object’, the court heard.
'He made her engage in sexual activity with him. He made her do things that she did not want to do,' Mr Stevenson said.
'He hit her. He treated her as his sexual object. He referred to her as his slave. She did not want to do the things that Mr Lindow was making her do.
'Unfortunately, she did not have the ability to extract herself from the situation she found herself in.
'On the final occasion, Mr Lindow invited the second defendant, Kurt Baker, along to have sex with her.'
The girl told the authorities that she repeatedly said ‘no’ to Lindow’s sexual demands but was forced to do them. She said she had also told him her true age.
Mr Stevenson added: 'She said that Bobby did not tell her what would happen when they met up, just that he said he was going to use her.
'She felt she didn’t have a choice...Bobby told her that he owned her, which meant that she had to do whatever he wanted.'
Maidstone Crown Court (pictured) heard Lindow had initially spoken to his victim through the Kik platform on which the former cop, who had left the force in 2015, used the names ‘Bobby’ and ‘Britishbobby50’
Both men claimed after their arrests they believed her to be 17 or 18 years old, and that she had consented to all sexual activity.
However, the prosecutor told the jury of nine men and three women that her ‘unquestionable vulnerability and naivety was clear to see’.
Lindow was arrested in January this year.
His phone was analysed and police found evidence of a sexual interest in young females, as well as semi-naked photos of the victim and three explicit videos of the hotel rape stored in a passcode-protected app.
His internet history revealed search terms including ‘schoolgirl f***ed by teacher’, ‘tiny t*ts video’, and ‘amateur girl had sex in the hotel’.
Nerida Harford-Bell, defending Lindow, said he had since shown ‘some degree of remorse’ and accepted he ‘took advantage’.
Baker told police after his arrest that the hotel incident was ‘usual submissive/dominant role-play’, with Lindow ‘controlling the situation’.
He said the girl did not say ‘no’ or tell him to stop.
His phone however later revealed he had sent a bragging Facebook message to a friend during the hotel incident, crudely describing how the girl had ‘hated’ what he had done to her.
Baker did not give evidence in court, but Mr Stevenson said he had shown ‘utter indifference’ to the girl and was ‘solely interested in his own satisfaction’.
The jury was told that, on being charged with rape, he asked the officer ‘What am I supposed to do? Ask her?’.
Lee Sergent, defending, told the court Baker had shown ‘a reckless disregard’ for the victim.
In a letter he wrote to the judge, Baker said he wanted to ‘apologise profusely’ to the teenager but blamed Lindow, adding: 'I lay my trust in the wrong people for a short time on that one day.'
Superintendent Keith Roberts, of Kent Police, said: 'These two men subjected the victim of this case to the worst possible kind of exploitation and abuse, and I commend her for her bravery in coming forward and reporting this to us. They were fully aware of what they were doing and completely dehumanised her.
'Despite there being clear and obvious evidence which showed they were the perpetrators of this offending, they remorselessly chose to take this case to trial.
'Officers and detectives from our Missing and Child Exploitation Team have done everything in their power to provide the victim of this case with the best possible support, and will continue to do so.
'I am pleased we have now secured justice and that these exceptionally dangerous men are unable to target other victims.'
No comments: