Sacked police officer given Sexual Risk Order

David Lovell was sacked for gross misconduct in May

A former police officer, who posted intimate images of women online without their consent, has had conditions placed on his contact with children.

David Lovell, who was based in Somerset, also had sex with a fellow employee at a police station while on duty.

Mr Lovell, 46, was fired from Avon and Somerset Police for gross misconduct after a misconduct hearing in May.

He was given a Sexual Risk Order at North Somerset Magistrates' Court.

The order, issued on Monday, will last for seven years and places strict conditions on Mr Lovell, from Weston-super-Mare, which include:

• No unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 18, except in strict circumstances

• No undertaking of employment likely to cause him to have unsupervised contact with under 18s

• Restrictions on his use of computers or devices capable of accessing the internet, including via false names

• No possession of any device capable of storing digital images, except in strict circumstances

• Not inviting or requesting others to provide/exchange sexual images of themselves with him, or others

'Abused confidence'

A woman initially contacted police in 2021 to report intimate images of her had been posted on a website.

She told investigators she had consensually shared these images with Mr Lovell previously but had not given him consent to post them online.

An investigation was launched, and it was discovered that he had posted online intimate images of two other women.

Police said the women stated they did not wish to proceed with a criminal complaint but were willing to support the misconduct process, on the basis they would be given anonymity.

Head of professional standards for Avon and Somerset Police, Supt Mark Edgington, said Mr Lovell "abused the confidence placed in him by the complainants in the most distressing of ways".