A FORMER police officer has denied raping a teenage girl just weeks after meeting her on a flight training course.

David Waller strenuously denied picking up the teenager from her hometown before driving her to his parents’ house in Thornaby where he allegedly raped her.

Jurors at Teesside Crown Court heard the 34-year-old accept that he picked the girl up but denied that he had any intention of having sex with her.

Under cross examination, Matthew Bean, prosecuting, challenged the defendant on his account of what happened on the night of the alleged attack more than a decade ago.

He said: “You raped her?” Waller replied: “No I did not.”

Mr Bean said: “If a girl asks you to stop when you are having sex, what would you do?” Waller replied: “I have never forced myself on anyone – I have never, and never will, do anything like that.”

Mr Bean added: “There would be no justification to carry on?”

He replied: “Absolutely not, I think it’s disgusting.”

The court had heard Waller had driven the teenager towards his home before a phone call from the complainant’s father prompted them to turn around and call at the home of one of her friends to convince her parents she was staying there.

However, the jury heard how they then again set off to Teesside where the defendant raped the complainant, refusing to stop having sex with her despite her telling him to stop as it was hurting.

Mr Bean asked Waller what he thought when he was contacted by a teenage girl when he was a man in his 20s and a serving Cleveland Police officer.

Waller told jurors that they were just friends and he had no intention of starting a sexual relationship with the girl.

Mr Bean put it to the defendant that his claim was a lie and said Waller had taken the girl home with the intention of having sex with her.

Waller replied: “Absolutely not, if she had come to my address then my parents would have been in.”

When asked how she reacted when her father called when they were driving, Waller said: “She seemed a bit spooked.”

Waller, 34, of Eastleigh, Thornaby, denies all charges. He is accused of meeting some of his alleged victims through his roles with Cleveland Police, as a flying instructor and various theatre groups between 2004 and 2016.

The allegations now include one charge of rape, three counts of inciting underage girls to engage in sexual activity, three of meeting or attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, two counts of sexual activity with a child, and one of sexual assault. He faces an additional charge of misconduct in a public office from his time in the police.

The trial continues.