Norfolk Police trainee sacked for non-consensual sex

Matthew Roberts had only been a trainee officer for 20 days when the incident occurred

A trainee police officer has been sacked for having non-consensual sex with a woman who told him her drinks had been spiked with the drug MDMA.

Matthew Roberts was less than three weeks into his Norfolk Police training when the incident happened last July.

A disciplinary panel found his actions amounted to gross misconduct.

Chief Constable Paul Sanford, who chaired the panel, said his actions had caused "considerable harm" to himself, the woman and the police's reputation.

As first reported in the Eastern Daily Press, the victim had been to a house party but texted the student officer, saying she believed her drinks had been spiked.

Mr Roberts went to her home later that night and the pair had sex, despite her not being in a condition to give consent.

In subsequent text messages, he expressed concern about consent "not being present".

An investigation was launched after he disclosed these messages to his trainers.

A forensic report showed the woman was still likely to have been under the influence of the drug when sex took place.

'Considerable harm'

Mr Sanford said someone in this condition "cannot consent to sex" and that Mr Roberts' action were a "sexual act against a vulnerable female."

He told the student officer: "You have never been deployed operationally and this case demonstrates why you are not suitable for such deployments - the public would not tolerate it."

He said Mr Roberts had shown remorse in his messages to the woman, but "little remorse" during the disciplinary hearing.

Concluding the hearing, Mr Sanford said the only appropriate outcome was for Mr Roberts to be dismissed without noticed.

"The harm caused in this case is considerable. This was a sexual matter, and the impact of such incidents is significant both to the individuals concerned and in this case to the reputation of the police service," he said.

"I expect the highest standards of behaviour, honesty and conduct... When these standards are not met, we will take appropriate action, as we have in this case, and the student has rightly been dismissed."

He said that although detectives had investigated, no further action was possible as the victim did not support a police investigation or criminal charges.