Monday 1 August 2022 02:54 PM Officer 'sent naked selfie to woman who reported sex assault' and said he'd ... trends now
A police officer sent a naked selfie to a woman after she complained she had been sexually assaulted in a pub, a hearing was told.
The sergeant told the woman he wanted to take her home and use his police handcuffs on her and confessed he was so aroused by her he would have sexually assaulted her himself.
He made the alleged comments after she approached the officer and told him she had been sexually assaulted in a bar and wanted to make an official complaint.
The shocking revelations were made at a disciplinary hearing today where the serving police officer faces allegations his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct.
If they are proven then the officer from Sussex Police could be drummed out of the force.
But controversially the officer has been granted anonymity to keep his identity a secret.
The move has sparked fury from rape charities who say granting the officer anonymity amounts to misogyny and erodes trust and confidence in the police.
Jayne Butler of Rape Crisis said: 'Granting anonymity to officers accused of misconduct does nothing to build up public trust.
'It speaks to a culture of misogyny, where the reputation of a police officer trumps the safety of women and girls.'
Sussex Police Headquarters in Lewes, pictured above, is home to Sussex Police where the accused sergeant has been granted anonymity
The hearing was told the alleged incident happened in March 2014 when the woman and her two sisters were enjoying a night out in Hastings, East Sussex.
They were drinking in Yates wine bar when Female A was groped by a man who put his hand up her skirt.
Cecily White, for Sussex Police, said the man put his hand up her skirt and groped her bottom and and vagina over her clothing.
She said: 'Out of the blue she was touched. She was shocked and disgusted by it. It was completely unwanted and uninvited.'
The man was evicted from the pub and the victim went outside to report the attack to police.
The sergeant, who was on patrol in the town centre, sat the victim in the front of his car to take a witness statement.
But as he took her statement he allegedly began making 'sexually suggestive' and 'flirtatious' remarks to her and told her he liked her short dress.
He said: 'You're turning me on. You're arousing me' and said he would have put his hands up her skirt himself.
The disciplinary hearing was told he then told her he wanted to take her home and tie her up.
Ms White said: 'He said he wanted to take her home and use his handcuffs on her and tie her up. He said something on the lines of 'Fair play to the guy for grabbing her bottom' as if he understood why he had done it saying: 'I would have done the same myself.'
The sergeant - known as PS X - took her mobile phone number and later sent her a full-length naked selfie.
Ms White said: 'Later she got a text from a number she did not recognise. She asked who it was and he replied with his name.
'He then sent a naked photo of himself. She said it was a full length picture of himself taken in the mirror and he had an erection in the photo.'
She showed it to her sister and deleted it along with the 'flirtatious' messages he had sent.
Months
