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A Devon and Cornwall Police officer has been dismissed without notice following our investigation into allegations he abused his position for sexual gain.

A misconduct hearing, arranged by the force, found the officer’s actions constituted grossmisconduct for engaging in sexual relationships both on and off duty with two women who he met through his work.

Our investigation found the officer contacted the women, a domestic abuse survivor and a 16-year-old, to meet and engage in sexual activity in 2010 and 2011.

The officer’s conduct came to light after a complaint was made by one of the women in spring 2017 which was referred by Devon and Cornwall Police.

Our investigation, which concluded in May 2018, looked at mobile phone records, GPS data, police logs, witness accounts and coupled with the officer’s response found there was a case to answer for gross misconduct, which was agreed by Devon and Cornwall Police.

Due to an indication that a criminal offence may have been committed, we referred the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service, which decided in September 2018 not to authorise a charge.

IOPC Regional Director Catrin Evans yesterday said:

“Officers who abuse their position of trust and power by establishing improper sexual relationships have no place in policing.

“This officer met one of the women when responding to a domestic abuse incident and the other was 16 at the time. He breached the high standards of professional behaviour expected of police officers and was rightly dismissed.

“We are working hard to ensure police forces refer all allegations of abuse of position for sexual purpose to us, and we will continue to provide guidance and knowledge to help identify this abuse of trust as early as possible.”

The officer will be placed on the police barred list.

Note to Editors

The officer has not been named as directed by the chair of the misconduct hearing panel to protect the identity of the witnesses.