A POLICE officer who was thrown out of the North Yorkshire force despite being cleared of abusing girls as young as nine has lost his High Court bid to be reinstated.

Mark Verity, of Ringstone Close, Clifton Moor, York, stood trial at Leeds Crown Court in March last year, accused of molesting six girls, all under the age of 13.

The probationary officer, then aged 22, was found not guilty on all charges, but the High Court heard that his police career was later cut short when the force’s Chief Constable decided to “dispense with his services” on grounds that he was “not likely to become an effective police constable.”

Mr Verity’s lawyers criticised the Chief Constable’s ruling as unlawful, and accused him of taking into account irrelevant factors relating to the charges of which he had been acquitted.

But top judge Mr Justice Silber said the Chief Constable was entitled to reach the view that Mr Verity “could not for the forseeable future independently patrol or deal singly with children” and that the “safest course of action would be to restrict his duties very significantly so as to make him office bound.”

He said: “The Chief Constable must be allowed a substantial degree of deference as he, unlike a judge, knows what constables are expected to do and the risks that the claimant (Mr Verity) might constitute to children.”

The Chief Constable had been entitled to obtain a “complete picture about whether the claimant could perform any duty which might be expected of a police constable, including dealing with children.”

Testimonials and “much material supportive” of Mr Verity had been placed before the Chief Constable and the judge concluded: “I was left with the clear impression that the claimant had a fair hearing.”

Mr Verity, who was suspended from duty for nearly a year before the trial, could not be contacted yesterday for comment.