Hampshire PC who lied about being attacked sentenced

The officer was on trial at Bristol Crown Court

A police officer who lied about being repeatedly attacked by her fictitious ex-boyfriend has been sentenced.

Nadia Thurley, 29, a probationary officer with Hampshire police, alleged she had been assaulted 14 times over a seven-month period.

Thurley, who has complex post-traumatic stress disorder, denied perverting the course of justice but was found guilty after a trial.

She has been handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence.

The 29-year-old, from Woking, Surrey, was also ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work and complete 40 days of rehabilitation activity.

'Let down'

Judge Moira Macmillan said: "You don't need me to tell you that I have to pass sentence for some really serious offences, and they are made more serious by the context in which you committed these offences, that you are a serving police officer at the time."

The court heard during the trial that Thurley would arrive at work at Southampton central police station with injuries to her face and tell colleagues she had been attacked by her ex-partner, a man she called Dan Jones.

More than 150 officers investigated her allegations and examined more than 800 hours of CCTV footage.

Detectives installed covert surveillance equipment opposite Thurley's home in the New Forest.

In July 2021, Thurley made two further allegations of assault, claiming "Mr Jones" had attacked her in her home.

Detectives examined the camera and found no evidence of anyone entering or leaving her home, and she was later charged with two counts of perverting the course of justice.

After reporting the final two attacks, she refused medical attention and declined to make a statement to police.

In a statement to the court, Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said Thurley's crimes had "inevitably damaged the reputation of Hampshire police".

"Investigations into the allegations themselves occupied thousands of hours of police time and police resources were diverted from other victims of crime to respond to her reports," she said.

"The officers undertook overtime specifically to locate Mr Jones and they themselves feel let down and disappointed. Her actions have been felt across the organisation."

Since her conviction, Thurley has been sacked from the Hampshire force by a disciplinary panel.

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