Police officer charged with further sex crimes

A police officer has been charged with seven sex assaults against a child - a year after he was charged with raping a woman.

PC Joe Lavender, who served with West Yorkshire Police, is alleged to have committed the crimes while off-duty against three girls and the attacks have been described as "non-recent".

The 43-year-old, who was based in Leeds, has now been charged with five counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 years old.

PC Lavender has been suspended from duty pending an investigation and will appear at York Magistrates' Court on 13 February.

The first charge was in relation to an alleged off-duty offence in Castleford on 21 January, said police.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.