A special constable who groomed and sexually abused a 14-year-old boy in Hemel Hempstead was jailed for 10 years today (Thursday, March 7).
Craig Baker, 32, of Crabtree Lane in Hemel Hempstead, befriended the youngster at the sports centre in Hemel, where he was the manager. He let him drive his car, plied him with alcohol and drugs, and videoed the sexual abuse while the boy was unconscious, Luton Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor James Keeley said: “Mr Baker was a predator. He met him at the XC centre where the young man went to enjoy himself riding his bike. He (Baker) gained his trust and the trust of his parents by using previous inappropriate behaviour by another adult as a pretext. He was saying: ‘Your boy is safe with me.’
“He conned the parents in a most cruel way and used more tactics to pursue his sexual interest in the child. He let him drive his car, took him out for meals, encouraged him to drink alcohol and take drugs to get him into a state of vulnerability so he could sexually abuse him.”
Mr Keeley said Baker was a trainee special constable at the time. To keep the boy quiet, he threatened to tell his parents he had been smoking cannabis. The abuse and manipulation of the boy took place in June 2020 and had “crushed” him and his family, he said.
Mr Keeley said: “The family feel completely and utterly betrayed.”
Baker appeared for sentence having been convicted of four charges of sexual activity with a child and one of taking photos of a child. He had pleaded guilty to one charge of taking photos of a child.
Defending, Pamela Brain said: “He maintains that he is innocent, save for the one offence of images he pleaded guilty to. Up until these matters, he was a man of good character. The offending took place over a limited period between June 12 and June, 20, 2020. There has been no suggestion of subsequent allegations or misbehaviour.”
Judge Ross Johnson jailed him for 10 years and added a three-year extension to his licence as he found him to be a danger to the public. It means he can be recalled to prison at any time up to 2037.
The judge told him: “You abused your position of trust as manager of a sports centre. You wormed your way into the trust of the boy’s family. You used alcohol and drugs to commit offences when he was at his most vulnerable.”
The judge said he had abused his position as a trainee special constable by showing the boy his warrant card and subjecting him to a controlling relationship by threatening to tell his parents about the drug use.
He said there had been three occasions of sexual abuse with one being recorded while the victim was unconscious.
Judge Johnson told him: “You have no remorse and have shown yourself to be highly manipulative and controlling.”
Baker must register as a sex offender and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order for the rest of his life.
Photo credit: Hertfordshire Constabulary
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