By Samantha Jones-
Ex IOPC boss , Michael Lockwood has appeared in court to deny raping and sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl at a sports centre nearly 40 years ago.
Lockwood, 64, (pictured)faces three charges of rape and six counts of indecent assault over alleged incidents in the Hull area between October 1985 and March 1986.
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He spoke to confirm his name and date of birth, while details of his family home in Epsom, Surrey, where he lives with his wife of 30 years were passed to the court in writing.
Westminster magistrates court heard allegations of the former watchdog boss kissing and groping the girl in his car and in a store room of the leisure centre where he worked as a lifeguard and fitness instructor.
Lockwood’s barrister Jacqueline Carey KC said his client denies all the charges.
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Prosecutor Mark Langan said the charges “stem from the end of 1985 and early 1986, over a five month period.
“At the time the complainant had just turned 14-years-old, and the defendant was aged 25 or 26.”
Lockwood was appointed as the IOPC’s first director general in 2018 when the body was created to replace the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
In a statement at the time of his resignation from the IOPC, Lockwood said: “It is with great sadness that I have decided to resign as director general of the IOPC for personal and domestic reasons, and this will be effective from today.
“It has been an enormous privilege to serve as the first director general of the IOPC and to have led the organisation for the past five years. I am proud of the progress we have made and I am grateful to all our staff, the unitary board and external stakeholders for all their support.
“The unitary board will now work with the Home Office to put in place new leadership arrangements as quickly as possible.”
The IOPC is the regulatory watchdog for the police, handling all official complaints against police conduct.
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