West Yorkshire Police sergeant Ben Lister jailed for raping woman who became pregnant
A West Yorkshire Police sergeant has been jailed after being convicted of raping a woman after a night out .
Bradford Crown Court heard they had been out drinking before bedding down on separate sofas.
Lister then dragged the woman off the sofa, raped and sexually assaulted her.
Prosecutors said she did not have a full picture of what happened because of the amount of alcohol she had drunk.
Lister, who was off duty at the time, initially denied they had sex, then claimed it was consensual.
He only accepted the woman's child – a baby girl – was his after a DNA test.
Lister was convicted of rape and jailed for ten years.
Det Supt Mark Long, of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, praised the woman's bravery and added: "I have no doubt that the serious criminal behaviour of one of our officers will leave colleagues as horrified as I am.
"West Yorkshire Police expects the highest standards of conduct and behaviour from its officers, whether they are on or off duty.
"This officer’s actions fell far below those standards."
He added that Lister will still face a misconduct case.
Pauline McCullagh, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The offence of rape has profound effects on victims.
"Although he was not on duty when he committed this terrible crime, Lister was still a serving police officer, charged with upholding the law and protecting the public."