Child abuse detective who groomed teenager for sex through Facebook
Plea: Andrew Rowe sent hundreds of inappropriate messages to his victim by mobile and through Facebook
A former child abuse detective today pleaded guilty to inciting a 15-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity via the Facebook networking site.
Andrew Rowe, who befriended his victim's family during his work with Staffordshire Police's child abuse investigation unit, admitted five sexual offences when he appeared at Birmingham Crown Court by videolink.
Rowe, 31, sat with his head bowed at HMP Birmingham after tendering guilty pleas to the charges brought under the 2003 Sexual Offences Act.
The charges included two of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, one of meeting a child following sexual grooming and one of sexual activity with a child.
Rowe, formerly of Ashwood, Stoke-on-Trent, resigned from the Staffordshire force in April after being suspended from duty and appearing before magistrates in Burton-upon-Trent.
It is known that Rowe, who was remanded in custody pending the preparation of pre-sentence reports, sent hundreds of inappropriate messages to his victim, using both Facebook and a mobile phone.
Prosecutor John Attwood told Judge Roderick Henderson that the defendant met and befriended the victim's family some years ago during a criminal investigation.
Revealing that the five offences had taken place in early 2009, Mr Attwood added: 'This defendant engaged in what may be described as sexual grooming of this girl in a number of regards.'
Rowe, a former detective constable with 12 years' service, was based in Stafford.
In a statement issued after the hearing, Staffordshire Police stressed that Rowe had been arrested 'within hours' of the offences coming to light.
The force's Assistant Chief Constable, Marcus Beale, said: 'Andrew Rowe has admitted serious offences under the Sexual Offences Act and is rightly facing a significant prison sentence.
'He ingratiated himself with a family, then betrayed his young victim and her parents, who had placed their trust in him as a police officer and as a supposed friend.
'It is hard to imagine a more shocking abuse of position by an officer.'
Mr Beale, who disclosed that Rowe had tried to cover his tracks by deleting phone and computer evidence, added that every support had been given to the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
'We are extremely grateful for the support, cooperation and understanding we have had from her and her family in dealing with such a sensitive case,' Mr Beale said.
'We hope that Rowe's admission of guilt will help them come to terms with what he did.'
The family of Rowe's victim, who was in court to hear his guilty pleas, issued a statement to reporters stressing that they did not hold Staffordshire Police responsible for any of the officer's actions.
The statement read: 'We would like to thank Staffordshire Police for all their help and support during this very difficult time.
'As an officer within the child abuse investigation unit, we regarded Andrew Rowe with the highest level of trust possible - a trust which he went on to completely abuse.'
The statement continued: 'The hardest thing at the beginning was the prospect of reporting a police officer to the police, wondering what level of support, if any, we would receive.
'We would now urge anybody who finds themselves in a similar situation to report the matter immediately, as we have received the highest level of help and support possible.'
Every officer involved in investigating Rowe's conduct had made it very clear that every measure would be taken to stamp out any form of corruption within the police service, the family added.
The relatives' statement went on: 'We have hit no brick walls or had anything swept under the carpet.
'Fortunately, the "Life on Mars" style of policing remains a TV programme based on policing many years ago.'
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