Northamptonshire PC guilty of 'gross misconduct' after sending explicit photos

The explicit photographs were sent from Mullen's mobile phone via Snapchat

A police officer who sent explicit photographs to a woman would have been dismissed if he had not resigned, a hearing has ruled.

Toby Mullen, aged 24, was a serving officer with Northamptonshire Police when he sent the images on Snapchat.

He had also kept personal notes on his mobile phone containing personal details of people he had met whilst on duty.

A misconduct panel found Mullen had committed gross misconduct.

Northamptonshire Police said Mullen had sent unsolicited, explicit, images to a woman via the Snapchat social media platform.

HIs mobile phone was seized and the images sent to the woman were found on the device

There were also 47 personal notes on the phone which contained the personal data of members of the public who Mullen had encountered during the course of his policing duties.

He was charged with sending grossly offensive or indecent message via the mobile phone network and retaining personal data illegally.

He admitted both offences during a hearing at Northampton Magistrates Court last month and was sentenced to 100 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay fines and costs of £449.

Kate Meynell, the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police, chaired the disciplinary hearing

A disciplinary hearing was held on 26 February, chaired by the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police, Kate Meynell.

She found that the offences amounted to gross misconduct and Mullen would have been dismissed from the force if he had not resigned before the hearing.

He will also be placed on the police barred list of officers dismissed from the force.

Northamptonshire Police said it was determined to hold officers to account

Northamptonshire Police said it was "vital that our officers, staff and volunteers uphold the high standards of behaviour expected of everyone who works in policing.

"We know there are some who continue to let the public, the service and their colleagues down, and we remain as determined as ever to hold to account those whose conduct and integrity falls short of the standards expected."

A spokesperson for Snapchat said: "Using Snapchat to send or share sexually explicit content is strictly against our rules and if we come aware of this content, we remove it immediately.

"We offer quick, easy and confidential in-app reporting tools, have a strike system to remove accounts that repeatedly break our rules and work with police to support their investigations."