Former anti-corruption officer denies misconduct

Paul Whitehurst denies misconduct allegations against him

A former anti-corruption police officer denied allegations of gross misconduct and abusing his position for sexual purposes, a hearing was told.

Paul Whitehurst, who served as a detective sergeant with Warwickshire Police, faces the allegations in relation to a woman, Charlotte Smith, then 18, who he first met while investigating a domestic abuse case.

The misconduct hearing was told he later contacted her, started a relationship with her, before continuing to make contact for eight months after she told him to stop.

In a separate case Whitehurst, 54, from Holway, North Wales, was jailed for 18 weeks in 2024 after admitting charges of assault by beating against an ex-partner.

The two day hearing, set up by Warwickshire Police and held in Whitehurst's absence, was told that when his phone was seized during the investigation, officers found 714 inappropriate images not related to work.

Panellists heard Whitehurst had known Ms Smith was vulnerable and was aware he had breached police guidelines, but went ahead with the relationship anyway.

He had first met her when she was arrested in 2013 and he provided a police guard for her in hospital, the hearing was told.

Later on he was appointed as the investigating officer in a domestic abuse case involving Ms Smith and her former partner.

A year later, Whitehurst was working in Warwickshire Police's Professional Standards department when he investigated another officer who it was alleged had also formed an inappropriate relationship with Ms Smith.

'Potentially racist jokes'

In 2018, he met Ms Smith in a bar, where they exchanged contact details, before starting a relationship in 2020.

Eight months later however, Ms Smith reported him to the Warwickshire force, alleging he had stalked, intimidated, harassed, and controlled her.

Whitehurst was later removed from his role in the anti-corruption unit, referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, and his phone was seized.

The hearing was told however, that before it was taken he deleted WhatsApp from the device, hindering the police investigation.

Among the sexual images later found on it, were five featuring naked men, five of topless women, and seven that were explicit sexual videos.

Investigators also found "potentially sexual and racist" jokes, along with misogynistic and sexist jokes.

A misconduct hearing in May 2024 determined he "would have been dismissed" had he not already resigned.

In July 2024, he was sent to prison after he admitted five charges of assaulting his former partner.

'Private life breached'

In April and September 2025, he was also found guilty on two separate occasions of breaching a restraining order not to contact her.

In the latest hearing Whitehurst, who joined the force in 2002, denied gross misconduct, that he formed an inappropriate relationship and that he abused his position for sexual purposes.

He also argued his right to a private life had been breached by the investigation and the misconduct proceedings.

His legal advisor told the hearing the relationship with Ms Smith was private, that he was allowed to use his work phone for private purposes, and that he should not have been ordered not to contact her.

The hearing, at Warwick Trident College, continues on Wednesday.

Correction 08 October: This article has been amended to show the 714 photos found on Paul Whitehurst's phone were described as inappropriate by the tribunal, rather than all being indecent.