Ex-PC cleared of sexually assaulting colleague

Daniel Gentles was found not guilty at Warwick Crown Court on Wednesday

A former police constable has been cleared of sexually assaulting a woman by "back-handing" her in her private parts.

Daniel Gentles was accused of assaulting the woman "out of the blue" during a shift in Warwickshire in 2023, and then using his mobile phone to show her a cartoon meme of a man hitting a woman in similar circumstances.

The 22-year-old was found not guilty at Warwick Crown Court after jurors deliberated for three hours.

Mr Gentles, who admitted in a police interview his actions were "immature", contacted the victim via social media about a week afterwards to apologise saying he treated it as a joke.

Mr Gentles, aged 19 at the time, also said in his message he thought the woman would do it back, the court heard.

Under cross-examination from defence barrister Sharon Bahia, the woman was asked if the incident "took on a life of its own" after a third party reported it to police, and she had then exaggerated her account to which she replied: "Absolutely not."

Judge Matthew Walsh told Mr Gentles on Wednesday that he was free to leave the dock after the jury of six men and six women returned their verdict.