British Police Officer Seduced Gay Rape Survivor

A gay sexual assault survivor was allegedly seduced by a police officer with the Sussex Police’s Sexual Offences Investigation Team, who asked him to share explicit photographs.

According to PinkNews, the man went to the Sussex police to report that he was raped in Manchester in 2018.

The officer investigating the case “did a caring, empathetic interview,” with the man.

“In the weeks that followed, he was just amazing,” the man said. “He got me.” Later on when the man logged onto Grindr, he noticed a blank profile, named “BiCurious39”,  and started a conversation.  As the conversation progressed he realised it was the officer investigating his rape case. 

The officer encouraged the man to send explicit photographs and the officer even told the man that sex with him would “help him heal and regain his sex drive.”

Officer Charged With Misconduct

The man became distressed and reported the officer to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

According to the IOPC report “The officer admitted contact with the complainant via the dating application and accepted they knew this contact was inappropriate. The officer also accepted they had exchanged sexual messages and images with the complainant. However, they denied intending to meet the complainant to engage in sexual activity.”

At the review hearing, the officer was charged with “gross misconduct” with the penalty being instant dismissal.

According to the report, “As the officer had already been dismissed from the force for another, unrelated case, no further action was taken. The officer was placed on the barred list of former officers who cannot work for the police service in the future.”

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stated that there was “insufficient evidence to charge the officer for misconduct in public office and improper use of police powers and privileges.”