Ex officer abused position for sexual gratification

Assistant Chief Constable Claire Armes said Paul Whitehurst had discredited the force and undermined the public's trust in it

A former anti-corruption officer with Warwickshire Police abused his position for sexual gain and to start a relationship with a vulnerable woman, a misconduct tribunal has heard.

Paul Whitehurst, 54, was found to have committed gross misconduct at a two-day hearing held in Leamington Spa.

Warwickshire Police said he would have been dismissed without notice, had he not already resigned from the force.

Assistant Chief Constable Claire Armes said he had discredited the force and undermined the public's trust and confidence in it.

The panel heard he had first met Charlotte Smith in 2013 when she had been arrested as a vulnerable teenager.

Whitehurst, then a uniformed officer, was asked to guard her hospital room.

In 2014, in a new role with the force's professional standards team, he led an investigation into allegations that another officer had used his role to start an inappropriate relationship with her.

The tribunal heard how "he was there to protect [her] from officers who were abusing their position".

"The fact that the gamekeeper turned poacher could not be more damaging to public confidence in the police force," the force said.

The Independent Officer for Police Conduct described his conduct as serious corruption

Charlotte Smith first reported him to Warwickshire Police in 2020.

Whitehurst, who now lives in Flintshire, was found to have 714 "inappropriate images" on his phone which were not related to his work.

These included seven sexually explicit videos and photos of naked men and topless women.

He also deleted WhatsApp from his phone in order to hinder the investigation into his conduct, the tribunal heard.

'Sexual gain'

Assistant Chief Constable Claire Armes, who chaired the two-day misconduct hearing at Warwick Trident College, described Whitehurst's conduct as "intentional and deliberate".

"He targeted a vulnerable woman, he held a position of trust and he abused his authority for sexual gain and a form of violence against women," she told the tribunal.

"He has caused harm to Charlotte Smith and he has caused reputational harm not just to Warwickshire Police but to the police as a whole."

As part of his role with Warwickshire Police's anti-corruption team, Whitehurst was responsible for training new recruits in the force's code of ethics.

Whitehurst, who joined the force in 2002, chose not to attend the tribunal.

In a written statement, he denied gross misconduct and argued his right to a private life had been breached by the investigation and the misconduct proceedings.

Assistant Chief Constable Armes said the panel "was not persuaded that there had been any breach of his rights to privacy".

"He abused his position for a sexual purpose and he provided contradictory and unconvincing accounts," she said.

"The panel identified no mitigating factors.

"It's clearly gross misconduct and a breach of multiple standards."

Whitehurst has the right to appeal the decision.

The misconduct hearing followed an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

"When police officers abuse their position for a sexual purpose, particularly in respect of vulnerable people, such behaviour represents a fundamental betrayal of the public's trust and the values for which the police service stands," said IOPC Director Emily Barry.

In May 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service said that no charges were being brought against Paul Whitehurst in relation to Charlotte Smith's complaints.

In a separate case, Whitehurst was jailed for 18 weeks in 2024 after admitting charges of assault by beating against another ex-partner.

At an earlier accelerated gross misconduct hearing in June 2024, Warwickshire Police concluded that had the former detective sergeant would have been dismissed if he had not have resigned.

He was also barred from future employment with the police service.