Authorities in Northern Ireland have identified “multiple” potential victims of a former police officer who is accused of rape and other sexual offences.

The office of the police ombudsman said on Tuesday it was allocating all available resources to the case given its “impact, scale and complexity”.

Ombudsman investigators arrested the former officer in December 2025 on suspicion of committing more than 10 offences, including rape, while serving in the police between 2000 and 2009.

“We have identified multiple potential victims, together with a substantial number of witnesses,” Hugh Hume, the ombudsman chief executive, said in a statement. “We have also seized a large volume of material, including a significant amount of digital evidence, during a search operation.”

Hume said the investigation’s scope meant other cases could be affected.

“As the victim impact, scale and complexity of the investigation have become clear, we are now working to ensure that this investigation is carried out in the most timely manner possible. We are, therefore, allocating all available resources to ensure it will be victim-centred, effective and efficient. Our resources are finite and this means that the timeliness of our other casework may be affected.”

The ombudsman needed to balance the demands of this “complex and expanding investigation” with other cases, said Hume. “If we do not prioritise now, in the long term we risk compromising the service we provide to complainants and victims, and public confidence in this office and the PSNI,” he said.

Under the terms of the Good Friday agreement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland replaced the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 2001.

Hume said news of the widening investigation could be distressing for anyone who had been affected or harmed, or who had been harmed by a similar experience. “We would like to reassure victims that they are not to blame and if they choose to contact us, we will listen, we will investigate and we will do so independently from police.”

He encouraged anyone with concerns about similar allegations of wrongdoing to contact the police ombudsman.

Doug Beattie, an Ulster Unionist Stormont assembly member, endorsed the decision to prioritise the case and said potential victims must be given appropriate support and information. “Those victims and witnesses who may not have come forward yet must be reassured that this is not their fault and be given confidence in the ombudsman’s investigation.”

Prioritising the case would have a knock-on effect on other cases, said Beattie. “This is unfortunate, but given the scale of this case it’s the right thing to do. Victims must be at the heart of this serious, multi-layered investigation.”

Colin McGrath, a Policing Board member and Social Democratic and Labour party (SDLP) assembly member, called the case “deeply disturbing” and called for extra funding for the police ombudsman.