GWENT Police have condemned a paedophile officer for his “sickening" crimes after he was found guilty by jurors of sexual offences.

Former rugby player John Stringer, aged 42, was convicted following a trial of five counts against a young girl in Cardiff.

After the verdicts were returned Gwent Police revealed the defendant is still a serving officer who will now be the subject of misconduct proceedings.

Stinger told the court he had a 14-year career with a "good record" as an officer.

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The jury returned guilty verdicts in relation to two counts of sexual assault, two counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and one of count of causing a child to watch a sexual act.

Stringer, from Fairwater, Cardiff had denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.

He was remanded in custody following the trial and told by Judge Daniel Williams he is facing an inevitable prison term when he will be sentenced on October 28.

Gwent Police Assistant Chief Constable Vicki Townsend said that the defendant had been suspended since his arrest in 2021: “As soon as we became aware of the allegations made against John Stringer, we took the immediate decision to suspend him from duty and he remains so to this day.

“These offences, which were committed against a child, are sickening.

"These are some of the most heinous crimes that we as a police service are dedicated in investigating, his offending is a betrayal of his role as an officer.

"We'd like to commend the bravery of the victim in this case, speaking out about such horrific abuse is hard and we understand the further impact of going through the court process will have.

“We’re now able to rapidly progress appropriate misconduct proceedings against this individual following the conclusion of the trial.”

After his arrest in 2021, colleagues from South Wales Police examined his mobile phone and found more than 4,000 searches for pornographic images. 

Stringer showed the girl one of the videos on his phone and asked her to “mimic” the actions of a woman on the screen.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that when the girl was asked how she felt while watching the video, she replied: "Very, very, very uncomfortable."

Stringer had also touched the young girl sexually.