Ex-PC Christopher Lings barred over 'sexualised' behaviour to colleagues

The disciplinary hearing was held at the former Goole Magistrates' Court

A police officer behaved in a "sexualised way" to two female junior PCs he was supposed to be mentoring, a misconduct panel has heard.

Christopher Lings, of Humberside Police, is alleged to have pushed each woman onto a bed on separate occasions and told one he was going to rape her.

The officer would have been sacked had he not resigned, the panel said. He was barred from serving for five years.

The force said sexual harassment or abuse "has no place within policing".

The misconduct hearing was told how Lings, 35, became drunk at a party on 16 March 2020, when he touched and kissed one of the women after pushing her onto a bed and lying on top of her.

Olivia Checa-Dover, the force's legal representative, said he also tried to move his hand up her leg towards her crotch.

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The panel chair Callum Cowx said her housemate heard Lings whisper to the woman that he was "going to rape her" that night.

He repeatedly asked her whether she was a virgin, Ms Checa-Dover said, leaving her visibly shaking and upset.

Lings, who was responsible for mentoring junior officers, had in the previous month sent her a message containing explicit sexual language.

Humberside Police said it pursued criminal charges against Lings but the Crown Prosecution Service did not prosecute him.

Lings was responsible for mentoring junior officers at Humberside Police

The incident came three months after Lings pushed another woman onto a hotel bed in Lincoln and lay on top of her following a Christmas party on 19 December 2019.

Ms Checa-Dover said the woman tried to stop him and after a drunken Lings fell asleep on the bed, she went to another room.

Lings, who was based in Grimsby and had served for 16 years until his resignation in March 2021, did not attend the hearing.

The panel heard he was given a final written warning in May 2015 after he behaved "inappropriately" towards three females while he was drunk.

'Especially serious'

Mr Cowx said his behaviour against both the junior officers amounted to serious gross misconduct and he had breached professional standards.

"Lings had a propensity to behave in an inappropriate sexualised way towards younger female colleagues," he said.

He said Lings "targeted such individuals" and the case "falls into the especially serious category".

"We assessed there to be a high level of harm," he added.

The force's Head of Professional Standards, Det Supt Matt Baldwin, said tackling "violence against women and girls is the number one force priority".