Police officer in court on seven counts of rape

A police officer suspected of having spent almost a decade forcing female suspects to have sex appeared in court today charged with seven counts of rape. PC Stephen Mitchell, 41, a serving officer at Northumbria police, was arrested by colleagues earlier this week following a 10-month investigation into complaints he sexually assaulted vulnerable women while on duty. At least some of the alleged victims are understood to have been "vulnerable" female suspects at the time of the assaults, a source with knowledge of the case said. In addition to the rape charges, Mitchell was accused of 17 offences of indecent assault and 19 of misconduct in a public office. The allegations involve 19 women and are said to have taken place between 1999 and 2007. Appearing at Newcastle magistrates court in jeans, a white T-shirt and black sweatshirt, Mitchell spoke only to confirm his name, age and address. Flanked by two dock officers, he was remanded into custody by magistrates and ordered to appear before the same court tomorrow, when his solicitor Geoffrey Forrester, will make a bail application. In a statement, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is "managing" the inquiry, said: "This is an ongoing investigation and anyone with information which they feel could be relevant to the inquiry is asked to contact Northumbria police." Despite IPCC oversight, the inquiry has been run by Northumbria police's professional standards department – the complaints department – which began investigating Mitchell in March last year. It is understood the inquiry began following complaints from women. Mitchell was initially arrested in July, before being released on bail. He was re-arrested at an address in Glasgow on Monday night. He was taken to a police station in Northumbria, and charged with the 43 offences this morning before being taken to court. In an unrelated case, another PC, Sean Smith, a serving officer with the Metropolitan police, todaydenied a catalogue of offences against young girls. The 29-year-old, from Kent, is accused of 15 counts of indecent assault against three children between 1996 and 2001, and pleaded not guilty at Tameside magistrates' court.