The jury in the case of two Essex police officers accused of failing to properly investigate a string of child abuse cases has retired to consider its verdict.
It is alleged that detective constables Sharon Patterson, 49, and Lee Pollard, 47, had told their superiors at Essex Police false information about the cases.
This included allegedly forging Crown Prosecution Service documents, creating false statements, concealing evidence including photographs, and failing to conduct inquiries as ordered out of laziness and “cynical disdain” for complainants.
The officers, who are a couple and live together in Colchester, Essex, were based at Chelmsford police station and each deny three counts of misconduct in a public office each between 2011 and 2014.
The trial began at the Old Bailey in London on January 17.
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