Date set for rape trial of ex-senior detective

A PROVISIONAL trial date has been set for a former senior detective accused of rape and stalking.

Colin Andrews, a retired detective chief superintendent with Humberside Police, is accused of raping a woman in December 2003.

Andrews, 57, from Brough, East Yorkshire, is also charged with stalking, common assault and harassment.

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The details of the charges were not outlined yesterday at a preliminary hearing at Manchester Crown Court which Andrews attended.

He will next appear at the same court for a plea and case management hearing on June 16. It is understood he will be denying the allegations.

The date for the trial has been scheduled for October 13 and is estimated to last up to three weeks.

Andrews was responsible for a number of high-profile investigations for Humberside Police during his long career, including the death of Army cadet Stephen Hilder in a mysterious sky-diving incident in 2003.

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Investigations showed his parachute straps were cut and despite a 10-month murder investigation and a five-day inquest into his death, Mr Hilder’s parents, Paul and Mary, said they still did not know why he died.

An inquest into his death saw a narrative verdict recorded.

After Andrews’s retirement from Humberside Police, he continued working for the force in a civilian role.