A former police watchdog boss has appeared in court to deny raping and sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl at a sports centre nearly 40 years ago.
Michael Lockwood, 64, faces three charges of rape and six counts of indecent assault over alleged incidents in the Hull area between October 1985 and March 1986.
Westminster magistrates court heard he is accused of kissing and groping the girl in his car and in a store room of the leisure centre where he worked as a lifeguard and fitness instructor.
It is said he went on to have sex with the girl three times when she was 14-years-old and he was in his mid-20s.
Lockwood stood down as director general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct in December last year after revelations that he was facing a criminal investigation into child sex allegations first came to light.
He appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday afternoon for a first hearing of the case.
After the charges had been read aloud, Lockwood’s barrister Jacqueline Carey KC said all the allegations are denied.
Prosecutor Mark Langan said the charges “stem from the end of 1985 and early 1986, over a five month period.
“At the time the complainant had just turned 14-years-old, and the defendant was aged 25 or 26.”
He said Lockwood “was employed part-time as a lifeguard and fitness instructor” at a Humberside leisure centre.
It is said Lockwood kissed the girl and touched her breasts while driving her home, and he is accused of “several sexual encounters in the staff store room in the sports centre itself”, said Mr Langan.
Lockwood, a former council chief executive in Harrow, north London, was charged with the offences after a Humberside Police investigation which began last year.
He spoke to confirm his name and date of birth, while details of his family home in Epsom, Surrey, where he lives with his wife of 30 years were passed to the court in writing.
Not guilty pleas to all charges were indicated by his legal team, before Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram sent the case to be tried at the Old Bailey.
Lockwood was set free on unconditional bail until the next hearing on July 26.
His shock resignation from the IOPC came after he had privately disclosed to the Home Office that he was under investigation.
“I have accepted Michael Lockwood’s resignation as director general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct”, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said at the time.
“I took immediate action upon being made aware that Mr Lockwood was the subject of a police investigation into an historic allegation, and instructed my officials to ask him to resign or face immediate suspension from his role.”
An IOPC probe into the handling of the case and Lockwood’s continued role at the head of the watchdog was also launched. Former Director of Public Prosecutions Sir David Calvert Smith has been brought in to head-up the review.
Lockwood was appointed as the IOPC’s first director general in 2018 when the body was created to replace the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Previously he headed a government taskforce in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, to help bereaved families, and has also previously worked as chief executive to Harrow Council.
In a statement at the time of his resignation from the IOPC, Lockwood said: “It is with great sadness that I have decided to resign as director general of the IOPC for personal and domestic reasons, and this will be effective from today.
“It has been an enormous privilege to serve as the first director general of the IOPC and to have led the organisation for the past five years. I am proud of the progress we have made and I am grateful to all our staff, the unitary board and external stakeholders for all their support.
“The unitary board will now work with the Home Office to put in place new leadership arrangements as quickly as possible.”
