"He became concerned and contacted the police."
Police officer Haider Siddique was jailed for seven years and seven months for grooming and sexually abusing a vulnerable 13-year-old girl.
The 23-year-old, who was a trainee officer at West Midlands Police and joined the force in August 2021, befriended the girl on Snapchat after she saw he was posting about women’s rights.
Siddique went on to have sex with the teenager twice, causing her to fear he had made her pregnant.
He attended Stechford Police Station with the victim on March 11, 2022, over an unrelated matter.
Siddique claimed the girl was a friend of his sister’s who wanted to understand more about Islam.
Prosecutor Tim Ashmore said officers drove her home separately and asked about the nature of her association with Siddique because “things simply didn’t add up”.
Siddique was only arrested when a bus driver recognised the girl from previous journeys and saw her with the officer while she was in school uniform on March 22, 2022.
Mr Ashmore explained: “He saw the defendant sitting close to her and talking to her whilst touching her back.
“The defendant got off the bus and hugged her. He became concerned and contacted the police.”
During the investigation, the girl told officers about the two sexual encounters with Siddique.
An emergency contraceptive pill and a negative pregnancy test were recovered from her belongings.
In messages, the girl and Siddique had “declared their love for each other”.
Siddique also posed as a friend’s parent to text the victim’s mother to ask if the girl could stay over.
During police questioning, he claimed that the girl had blackmailed him into having sex with her.
Siddique later admitted to two charges of sexual activity with a child. He denied one count of child abduction. It was ordered to lie on file.
Stephen Sweeney, defending, said a psychiatrist had assessed Siddique as being “extremely emotional and immature, who is emotionally operating at the level of a 14-year-old”.
He added that Siddique had severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, having suffered his own childhood trauma.
Mr Sweeney said: “It’s very serious. He knows it. He has come to realise just how serious it is.”
Judge Sarah Buckingham acknowledged Siddique’s claims of what he suffered as a child, including being kidnapped, had “some substance” because he had disclosed them upon joining the police.
But she concluded it was no excuse for his actions.
She told him: “It is somewhat surprising you were able to persuade the police as to your suitability as a trainer officer.
“But none of the appalling experiences excuse or explain what you did.
“With your employment and role as a trainee or probationary officer you must have been aware of your responsibility to protect the public, especially vulnerable members of the community.
“You of all people should have appreciated how vulnerable she was and in need of protection and support.
“You should have been aware of this just because you were an adult.
“Instead, you ignored all responsibility and allowed a sexual relationship to develop.”
Siddique, of Bartley Green, Birmingham, was jailed for seven years and seven months
He was also made the subject of a restraining order, banning future contact with the victim and her mother as well as a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
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