Serving West Midlands Police officer charged with child sexual assault on child

Credit: PA Images

A serving West Midlands Police officer has been charged with a sexual offence involving a child under the age of 13.

Student officer PC Joseph Powell is due to appear at Coventry Magistrates' Court on November 10 charged with assaulting a child by touching.

He has been accused of assaulting a child under 13 by touching between 2009 and 2011 and a further charge of unauthorised access to information on a police computer.

Powell is set to appear at Coventry Magistrates Court in November Credit: PA

In a statement, West Midlands Police said: "A serving West Midlands Police officer has been charged with an historical sexual offence.

"Student officer PC Joseph Powell is due to appear at Coventry Magistrates' Court on 10 November charged with assaulting a child under 13 by touching between 2009 and 2011 and a further charge of unauthorised access to information on a police computer.

"Powell has remained suspended since his arrest on 6 August 2020 while the matter was investigated."

The force also confirmed the alleged historical sexual offence charge happened before he joined the force and was employed by them.