Pontefract: Retired police officers accused of child sex offences dating back to 1990s
Two retired cops have been charged with non-recent child sexual offences dating back to the 1990s when they were working in Pontefract.
William Baker and Ian Hopkinson, both former West Yorkshire Police officers, have been accused of the offences that are alleged to have taken place between 1992 and 1995.
At the time, they worked in the Mounted Section which was then based in Pontefract. Baker was a police sergeant, while Hopkinson was a police constable.
Baker, 78, of Hayle, Cornwall, has been charged with three counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16 years and two counts of rape of a female under 16 years.
Hopkinson, 63, of Redcar, Cleveland, has been charged with five counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16 years and five counts of rape of a female under 16 years. Both are due to appear at Leeds Magistrates Court on May 7.
It comes after a woman came forward in 2023 reporting that she had been the victim of the offences. An investigation was launched, and both men were arrested on June 27 last year.
A third man, aged 74, who was also a West Yorkshire Police officer at the time of the reported offences, was arrested on the same day as part of the investigation. However, he has since died. It was determined there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.