A police station legal advisor has been accused of sexually assaulting three women while working in the region.

Graeme Iley allegedly stroked the bottom of a police officer when walking behind her while she was at work at a Northumbria Police station.

The 55-year-old is also accused of sexually touching the legs of two women who had been arrested before sending them both inappropriate messages.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Iley sent one woman a message wishing she was laid naked next to him in his garden and another message to a second woman offering to sample her coffee-making skills.

Ian West, prosecuting, told the jury that although the charges may seem minor, women are entitled to be free from the unwanted sexual attention of men.

The police officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was left feeling shocked by Iley’s behaviour in the police station.

“He has come behind me and touched my bottom,” she said. “It felt like the back of his hand.”

When asked how it made her feel and why she didn’t say anything at the time, she replied: “I was in shock.”

The officer told the jury that she spoke to another officer about the incident at the time but didn’t make a formal complaint.

When asked why she had done that, she replied: “I was embarrassed but I didn’t want him to do that to other people.”

She said she made her own complaint about the defendant after she learned he had been arrested for sexual assault.

Under cross-examination from defence barrister, Penny Hall, the officer confirmed that she had dealt with Iley on several occasions and had no other problems with him.

When asked why she couldn’t remember the exact date of the allegation, the officer said she had ‘boxed it up and put it to the back of her mind’.

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She said: “I have to be honest; I wouldn’t be here if this had happened only to me.”

Iley, of School Row, Prudhoe, pleaded not guilty to all six charges which are alleged to have taken place between February 28 and July 31, 2022.

Jurors heard how four charges relate to one woman, including touching her leg and kissing her on the head, and the final allegation relates to a third complainant.

The trial continues.