Police sergeant, 66, is guilty of raping a woman while still in his uniform as he took lunch break while on duty
- Derek Seekings, 66, went round to the home of the woman while he was on duty
- He pushed the woman onto the bed in an upstairs bedroom and raped her
- The sergeant left the house and went back to work as if nothing had happened
- On a second occasion he raped the same woman once again as she protested
- Seekings was today convicted of two counts of rape between 1994 and 2000
Derek Seekings, 66, (pictured last year) a former Surrey Police officer, has been found guilty of raping a woman during his lunch break – before returning to work
A police sergeant has been found guilty of raping a woman while still in his uniform on his lunch break.
Derek Seekings, 66, a former Surrey Police officer, went round to the home of the woman while he was on duty.
He pushed the woman onto the bed in an upstairs bedroom and raped her before going back to work as if nothing had happened.
On a second occasion he raped the same woman once again and when she protested he replied: ‘Just let me finish.’
Seekings – who served with Surrey Police until 2005 – had denied the offences but was today convicted at Brighton Crown Court of two counts of rape dating between 1994 and 2000.
The former custody sergeant – who was warned faces a lengthy custodial sentence – looked shocked as the verdict was delivered.
Prosecutor Jennifer Gray told the trial that one of the attacks took place while Seekings was on a break from work.
She said: ‘[The victim] made it very clear to him she didn’t want to have sex with him, he carried on regardless and he raped her.’
Retired Surrey policeman Derek Seekings (right) arrived at Brighton Crown Court on Monday
The officer, from Farnborough, Hampshire, was arrested in 2018 and charged with two counts of historical rape of the same woman.
Ms Gray said at the time of the attacks Seekings was working as a custody sergeant with Surrey Police.
During one lunch break he went round to the home of the woman and pushed her onto a bed.
The prosecutor said: ‘Despite the fact she made it clear she did not want to have sex with him, he carried on.
‘He had sex with her without her consent. She was still very clearly upset and distressed.’
On a second occasion he raped the woman while she protested and attempted to get him to stop.
The jury was told that Seekings was suspended from duty for a number of months and demoted to PC in the late 1990s following a car accident which led to a driving conviction.
Seekings (pictured outside court) – who served with Surrey Police until 2005 – had denied the offences but was today convicted at Brighton Crown Court of two counts of rape dating between 1994 and 2000
Seekings retired from the force in 2005 and was subsequently employed as a licensing officer by Surrey Heath Borough Council (SHBC).
He was later dismissed by the council.
The jury was played a video of a police interview with the victim who spoke about the horrific attacks.
During the interview the woman said: ‘I remember being pushed back on the bed. He was wearing his uniform. He had sex with me.’
She said she did not respond to his advances, didn’t say anything and didn’t make a sound or move during the attack.
The court heard that to distract herself she began to recite her seven times table in her head.
She said: ‘I didn’t want sex and I made that really clear. I didn’t move, I was very still. He got dressed again and he went back to work.’
The woman said on the second occasion she tried to push him off but he continued and told her: ‘Just let me finish.’
The former custody sergeant (right, arriving in court this week) – who was warned faces a lengthy custodial sentence -looked shocked as the verdict was delivered
Giving evidence from behind a screen, the victim told the jury: ‘It was blatant. It just happened and then he just left. I felt completely traumatised by what had happened.’
Judge Stephen Mooney adjourned the case for sentencing at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday January 13 and released Seekings, of Farnborough, Hampshire, on bail until then.
He told the defendant: ‘You have been convicted of two extremely serious offences, you are aware the only sentence I am going to be able to impose on you is a custodial sentence of some length.’
The jury took four and half hours to reach unanimous guilty verdicts on both counts.
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