Ex-detective found guilty over victim relationship

Wasim Bashir was found guilty following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court

A former detective who began a sexual relationship with a woman whose case he was investigating has been found guilty of misconduct in a public office.

Wasim Bashir, 55, contacted the woman after she came forward to police to report serious sexual offences and domestic violence.

Sheffield Crown Court heard the officer, who had experience as a specialist in rape investigations, then began a sexual relationship with her.

Bashir, from Bradford, was cleared of a second charge of misconduct in a public office relating to two other women he contacted. He is due to be sentenced on 29 August.

During his trial, the court heard Bashir, who retired in June, and a female officer had been involved in taking the woman's statement when she first reported the sexual assault in 2020.

She said Mr Bashir had been in touch with her a few days later to ask if she was OK, and they had agreed to meet for a coffee.

The jury heard they met at the Xscape Centre in Castleford, before Mr Bashir drove her to a quiet location where they had some sexual contact in his car.

The woman said she had sex with Bashir on two occasions after that, but their meetings stopped when she started another relationship.

Jurors heard the woman reported the relationship to police at the end of 2021.

Prosecutor Tony Dunne said the woman said she had "lost all trust in the police" as a result of Bashir's actions.

Bashir was charged in 2023 after an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and West Yorkshire Police.

IOPC director Emily Barry said: "As a police officer, DC Bashir held significant power so to abuse his position for a sexual purpose was an invidious and corrupt use of that power.

"Despite being an officer with 28 years' service, Bashir blatantly disregarded the rules designed to protect the public and maintain confidence in the police. His actions can only have undermined trust in policing."

Det Supt Natalie Dawson, from West Yorkshire Police, said for an officer "to pursue a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman who had come forward to report being victim of a sexual offence is nothing short of abhorrent".

"I want to reassure victims of crime and the wider public that this former officer is not representative of our organisation."

She said the force had taken "swift action" to suspend Bashir from duty, adding that although Bashir had retired the force would continue with professional misconduct proceedings "with a view to him being banned from gaining any further employment in the policing profession".

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