West Midlands Police officer jailed for abuse victim relationship

James Ankrett admitted improperly exercising his police powers

A former police officer has been jailed for five months after pursuing a sexual relationship with a domestic abuse victim he met while on duty.

James Ankrett began seeing the woman in 2017 while serving with West Midlands Police.

The 40-year-old was sentenced on Monday at Wolverhampton Crown Court after pleading guilty in September to corrupt or other improper exercise of police powers.

The force sacked him last week.

It said then his abuse of a position of trust had amounted to gross misconduct, with his former boss describing him as an "abhorrence".

Ankrett was witnessed being overly familiar with the woman during an emergency call to her house following an incident involving her adult son, the court heard.

The officer provided her with his personal telephone number, "pursuing personal contact with her" at a time when she was "clearly distressed and plainly vulnerable," said sentencing judge Recorder Christopher Millington QC.

Between 8 and 17 July 2017 he sent a series of flirtatious and sexualised text messages to which the woman had responded in kind, the court was told.

Provocative images were also shared between them.

Two visits to the woman's home were made while the officer was on duty "but these were not in a professional capacity", said the judge.

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In a personal statement read to the court, the victim described being "preyed upon" by the officer.

Ankrett, of Hednesford, Staffordshire, was charged in 2019 following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

An IOPC spokesperson said: "Cases where officers abuse their position for sexual purposes are among the most serious examples of corruption that we investigate.

"The public has a right to expect police officers to uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism, and that those who fail to do so will be investigated and dealt with robustly.

"PC Ankrett now has a criminal conviction to his name and has paid a heavy price for stepping over that boundary."

Prior to his sacking at a police hearing on 14 October, he had been placed in a non-public facing role and later, on his court appearance, suspended from duty.

"Public trust is undermined when officers behave as this officer has," said Chief Constable Dave Thompson at the time of the dismissal.

"The issue of violence against women and girls requires the police to act as champions for the fair treatment of women."

Mr Thompson said prosecutions would be sought against any officer guilty of breaching their position in the same way.