Warwickshire police investigator 'had inappropriate relationships'
- Published
Alan Butler denies two charges of misconduct in a public office
A member of police staff had a sexual relationship with a woman whose case he was investigating, a court has been told.
Alan Butler, an investigator with Warwickshire Police, is also accused of having a relationship with another woman he met while working on her case.
He "bombarded" one of the women with calls, his trial heard.
The 64-year-old, of Camp Hill in Nuneaton, denies two charges of misconduct in a public office.
The prosecution claimed Mr Butler entered into a personal relationship with a woman between October 2015 and August 2017 at a time he was investigating an allegation made by her.
The second charge alleges similar conduct with a women whose case he was working on in 2017.
'Feel flattered'
Giving evidence at the hearing on Wednesday, the first woman said: "When he needed to be supportive, his professional hat went on.
"Otherwise he would be flirty, but not in a way, when I first met him, that I thought it was something wrong. I never thought that something like that was going to happen."
She described Mr Butler "bombarding" her with calls and said "sometimes it made me feel flattered, but sometimes it was just crazy".
She said after a trial she was required to give evidence at, she told him she was moving away to start again.
He became "frantic", she said, and accused her of reporting him to the police.
After she denied this, she told the court he then suggested it may have been another woman, although he said he had not had a sexual relationship with her.
The witness's brother also told the court he had seen Mr Butler behaving "inappropriately" by putting his hand on her knee.
"I didn't think that was proper behaviour for a police officer in those circumstances, the way he was complimenting her," he said.
Defending Mr Butler, Christopher Millington QC put to him: "He did not put his hand on her knee." The brother replied: "Yes he did. I thought it was very unprofessional."
The trial continues.
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