Glover was accused of calling the girl a 'tease' before raping her

A married police officer, who was accused of sexually assaulting a mother and raping her daughter, has been cleared.

Detective Constable Mark Glover, 46, of South Wales Police, was found not guilty of three counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and two counts of sexual assault.

Mr Glover, from Penarth, who denied anything sexual ever happened between him and the daughter, said that he had sexual contact with the mother including intercourse but that it was always consensual.

The officer, who has been based at Barry and Bridgend police stations, told the jury at Cardiff Crown Court, he did not sexually assault either woman.

Mr Glover, who worked for Barclays Bank before joining the force in 1995, said he had an affair with the older woman some years ago which 'fizzled out', but that he then had consensual sexual contact with her on two occasions more recently, one which would have been at around the time of the alleged offences.

He served first as a response officer before joining the drugs team in CID and later being called to work in London following the bombings in 2005.

The court heard the allegations came to light after the woman wrote Facebook messages to a friend, which were found by her daughter who reported the matter to the police.

She later told officers that she had been raped by Mr Glover.

Mr Glover was interviewed by police and told them 'it is not in my nature' to carry out the offences he was accused of.

He said of the older woman: 'I certainly never forced her to do any of this.

'As far as I am concerned it has all be consensual.'

Glover was on trial at Cardiff Crown Court, above, where he says the sex was consensual, during an affair with the woman in question

Asked why the woman would claim he had sexually assaulted her, Mr Glover said: 'I don't know why.

'Anything that ever happened between me and (the woman) has not been abuse, it has been fully consensual between the two of us.

'I've not abused her. I don't know why she would say that.'

Of the younger woman, he said: 'This is just a complete figment of her imagination... I think she had done this because she had found out I have had an affair with her mother and this is her way of getting back at me.'

The jury returned unanimous verdicts on all counts after deliberating for one hour and 55 minutes.