Ex-policeman who raped woman while on work lunch break then returned to office jailed
Former Surrey Police officer Derek Seekings, 66, raped a woman while he was on duty, and raped her on another occasion six years later. He inflicted "severe psychological harm" on his victim, a court heard
Seekings was convicted of two counts of rape dating between 1994 and 2000 (
Image: PA)
Michael Drummond
Jonathan ColesNews Reporter
A former police sergeant who raped a woman while on a lunch break at work has been jailed for 11 years.
Derek Seekings, 66, was sentenced on Wednesday afternoon after being convicted of two counts of rape.
He attacked the same woman between 1994 and 2000.
The ex-policeman, who served with Surrey Police until 2005, inflicted "severe psychological harm" on his victim, a court heard.
In a statement read out at Lewes Crown Court, the woman described the impact the attacks had on her.
She said: "I am nervous of phone numbers I do not know or when someone is unexpectedly at the door."
Derek Seekings has been jailed for 11 years for rape (
Surrey Police)
She said the trial process had been "harrowing".
Prosecutor Jennifer Gray said: "A clearly aggravating factor was the fact that the defendant was a serving police officer at the time, and count one took place while the defendant was on duty."
His trial heard that Seekings was suspended from duty for a number of months and demoted to constable in the late 1990s following a car accident which led to a driving conviction.
Judge Stephen Mooney told Seekings: "I acknowledge that prison will be difficult for you both as an ex-police officer and the current conditions."
Retired police sergeant Derek Seekings, 66, is led away in handcuffs (
Earlier in the trial, prosecutor Ms Gray told the jury that one of the alleged rapes took place while Seekings was on a break from work.
She said: "She made it very clear to him she didn't want to have sex with him, he carried on regardless and he raped her."
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was left "very upset and distressed about what had gone on", the prosecutor said.
Seekings, of Farnborough, Hampshire, had been granted bail following his conviction but was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Wednesday.
Surrey PoliceCrown courtCrimeRape
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