Cheshire PC who had sex on duty was powerless, jury told

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Police jacketImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

Mr Masterson, who has resigned from Cheshire Constabulary in 2022, denies misconduct in a public office

A police officer who had sex with a woman after she made a 999 call claimed he was "powerless", a court has heard.

Jordan Masterson, 27, was a serving Cheshire Constabulary PC when he was called to the woman's home in the early hours of 28 December 2021.

Chester Crown Court heard the woman had already been visited by officers hours before after reporting a disturbance.

Mr Masterson, who has since resigned from the force, denies misconduct in a public office.

Opening the case, Duncan Bould, prosecuting, said the woman, referred to in court as female G, later called police again and the Widnes-based officer attended her home at about 00:30 GMT where she was "under the influence of alcohol" and "clearly in an emotional state".

Mr Bould said: "Within a short time of arriving at her home, the defendant turned off his bodyworn camera and engaged in consensual sexual intercourse with female G.

"Shortly after that he left her."

The jury heard female G described Mr Masterson's hand touching hers after he turned off his body-worn camera and said the "atmosphere then changed" and they ended up in the living room having sex on the couch.

The woman, whose children were asleep in the house at the time, later made more emergency calls and Mr Masterson returned to her home at about 01:30, again turning off his body worn camera, the court heard.

'No control'

Mr Bould said: "She says during the course of that second visit he told her not to tell anyone about what had happened earlier. He then left for a second time."

After he had left, the woman called police again and described what had happened, the court heard.

Mr Bould said the woman used the word "rape" when talking to the police call handler, but then clarified she had wanted to have sex.

Image caption,

Mr Masterson was a serving officer based in Widnes at the time of the alleged offence

The jury was told when Mr Masterson, of Townsend Avenue, Clubmoor, Liverpool, was interviewed by police he gave no comment to questions but gave a prepared statement in which he said the woman had "instigated" physical contact and had "been in control and that he was powerless".

Mr Bould said relatively large amounts of the woman's DNA were found inside boxer shorts recovered from Mr Masterson's home.

He said it was understood Mr Masterson now accepted having sex with the woman, but would suggest he had "no control over his actions".

'Be wary'

"Effectively, it seems he will say female G forced those actions on him," Mr Bould said.

"He denies he told her not to speak to anybody about their sexual encounter during that second visit."

The court heard when Mr Masterson completed a vulnerable persons assessment form after visiting the woman, he wrote that officers should "be wary of what this female may do in the future and I urge my colleagues to attend double-crewed".

Mr Bould told the jury: "It is the prosecution case he wilfully misconducted himself by having sex with her, that vulnerable member of the public, whilst on duty.

"We say this is not a case of him having no control over his actions but that his actions were deliberate."

The trial is expected to last seven days.

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