Police officer left vulnerable woman feeling 'violated'

The woman said she feared she was being "groomed" and "stalked"

A police dog handler allegedly sent a vulnerable woman graphic sexual messages that left her feeling “dirty and violated”, a misconduct panel has heard.

Avon and Somerset Police constable Philip Paul Nicholls, who is based in South Gloucestershire, is accused of developing an inappropriate relationship with the woman, who had survived serious domestic abuse.

The hearing was told PC Nicholls had repeatedly contacted the woman on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram to tell her he wanted to have sex with her.

He has denied the claims, writing in a response to the allegations that the messages - all of which were deleted by both parties - were "mutually flirtatious".

The misconduct hearing is being held at the force's headquarters in Portishead.

It heard the woman, who is being referred to as 'Ms B', said she feared he was "grooming" and "stalking her".

'Monitoring her profile'

Barrister Matt Holdcroft, representing the force, said married father PC Nicholls first contacted her because they shared a love of dogs but his messages quickly became unwanted sexual advances.

Mr Holdcroft said the woman did not find the constable attractive and did not encourage him, adding she had "told the officer about her past abusive relationship and its impact on her very early on in their interaction".

He added that the officer "would react instantly to anything that Ms B posted on social media".

“Ms B felt like he was almost monitoring her profile," he said.

“He frequently sent flame emojis in response to her photos. This made her feel violated and dirty.”

The police officer is accused of sending graphic sexual messages to the woman on social media

The lawyer said the woman later tweeted about struggling to control her dog, so the officer suggested he could come to her house to offer advice.

He said that she accepted his offer as a genuine one and arranged for him to visit, which he did a few days later.

Mr Holdcroft said: “The conversation was focused on the dog but the officer’s presence and the way that he looked at her made her feel uncomfortable.

“Later that day the officer resumed sending Ms B inappropriate messages.

“His messages returned to their previous explicit nature, including graphic descriptions of what he wanted to do to her."

'Bordering on pornographic'

PC Nicholls transferred from Gwent Police to Avon and Somerset in late 2022 and the messages became “even worse, bordering on pornographic”.

Ms B eventually told a domestic abuse support group meeting about it and a police worker attending the meeting spoke to her about it afterwards, which prompted an investigation.

In his written response to the allegations, PC Nicholls denied Ms B had ever disclosed she was a survivor of domestic violence and said he had stopped messaging her when she asked him to.

He also said Ms B had always made it clear that she wanted to have sex with him, and claimed that she had “encouraged” him.

'Went two-ways'

In a statement to police, Ms B said while they had arranged his visit to her home, she had regretted this later.

But while giving evidence on Monday she said she could not remember inviting him and would not have done so because he made her so uncomfortable.

She denied accusations by barrister Julian King, representing the officer, that her allegations were false and the messages were "two-way".

But she said PC Nicholls “wouldn’t take no for an answer”.

The hearing panel rejected an application by Mr King to throw out the case after Ms B’s testimony.

Mr King called her testimony inconsistent and unreliable and said that it showed there was no case to answer.

PC Nicholls denies allegations that his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct.

The hearing continues.