A serving officer from Hertfordshire Constabulary charged with possession of extreme pornography and computer misuse has appeared in court.

Detective Superintendent Stuart Cheek, 43, attended Cambridge Crown Court on August 6 and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The case was adjourned until next June when he is due back at the same court.

Hertfordshire Constabulary says the allegations date to within the last two years.

He has been suspended since July 27, 2020, and the matter has been investigated by the force’s Professional Standards Unit (PSD) and Bedfordshire Police after it was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

D/Supt Stuart Cheek joined the Constabulary in February 2018 and was initially posted to St Albans.

He was then posted to the forces Domestic Abuse and Safeguarding unit.

He was later promoted to Superintendent and placed within the force’s Community Safety and Crime Reduction Unit which is based at Police Headquarters, Welwyn Garden City.

The PSD investigation remains ongoing and may lead to a misconduct hearing in due course.

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