Cheshire PC who had sex on duty guilty of misconduct

  • Published
Chester Crown CourtImage source, Reuters
Image caption,

Former PC Jordan Masterson was found guilty at Chester Crown Court

A police officer who had sex with a woman after she dialled 999 has been convicted of misconduct in a public office.

Jordan Masterson, 28, claimed he was "powerless" as the woman was "in control" when he was called to her home, Chester Crown Court heard.

The former constable, based in Widnes, Cheshire, sobbed in the dock as the jury found him guilty.

The judge warned of the "overwhelming likelihood" of a custodial sentence.

The case was adjourned until 20 March for a pre-sentence report.

The trial heard the woman, referred to in court as female G, had been drinking alcohol and was "emotional" after reporting a disturbance.

Masterson turned his body-worn camera off about 15 minutes into his visit to her home, the court heard.

The woman, whose children were asleep in the house, told officers the "atmosphere changed" when Masterson, of Townsend Avenue, Liverpool, touched her hand.

'Completely violated'

Giving evidence from behind a screen, she said: "How does this happen?

"How do you call the police and he ends up taking advantage of you when you're drunk and vulnerable?"

Masterson claimed she had touched his hand and said she had left the room while he was on a radio call and returned naked.

The former officer, who resigned from Cheshire Constabulary in the summer of 2022, said: "I remember just being confused, feeling completely numb, like I was glued to the floor."

He claimed the woman pulled him on top of her on the sofa.

The court heard he left after they had sex but later returned to her home, after more emergency calls.

He denied "pleading" with her not to tell anyone about what had happened.

When he left for a second time, the woman rang police and reported the incident, initially using the word "rape" but then saying she had wanted sex.

Asked in court about why she said she had been raped, the woman said: "That's the word to describe how I felt.

"I felt completely violated."

Image caption,

Masterson resigned from the force in 2022

When questioned, Masterson claimed female G had "been in control and that he was powerless".

The court heard a vulnerable person's assessment form which Masterson completed after visiting the woman warned officers to "be wary of what this female may do in the future and I urge my colleagues to attend double-crewed".

Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said Masterson's behaviour was "shameful" and "amounted to a serious abuse of the trust which the public rightly have in a police officer not to act in this manner".

She added: "He knew what he had done was wrong, and then attempted to cast doubt on the woman's account by urging his colleagues to attend her home with at least two officers in future."

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