Ex-officer Rhett Wilson abused his position for sexual relationships

Rhett Wilson was arrested in March 2020, days after a referral was made to the force's Professional Standards Department

A former police officer who abused his position to start sexual relationships with vulnerable women has been jailed.

Rhett Wilson met the domestic violence victims through his work as a West Mercia Police officer in Shropshire.

He had admitted three corruption offences relating to the relationships and was sentenced to two years and eight months at Worcester Crown Court.

He was convicted of perverting the course of justice for deleting evidence in December at the same court.

Wilson, 27, joined the force in 2019 and began pursuing sexual relationships and stalking in December that year.

He was arrested on 10 March 2020, days after a referral was made to the force's Professional Standards Department.

'Confidence in police'

After being interviewed, he was suspended on 12 March and resigned in July 2020 while under investigation, the force said.

The incident was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and internal misconduct proceedings will now take place following him being jailed on Friday.

Wilson previously admitted three counts of corrupt or other improper exercise of police powers and privileges.

He was convicted of perverting the course of justice after deleting messages and call data from his phone to hide his offences.

Giovanni D'Alessandro of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Rhett Wilson was fully aware of his professional obligations in relation to those he met through his duties.

"Yet, he targeted women he knew to be vulnerable and used his position of power to exploit them for his sexual gain.

"When he became aware of the police investigation into his behaviour, he deleted all evidence from his phone to evade justice, showing a blatant disrespect for the law."

Dep Ch Con Alex Murray said he abused his position and it was likely his victims did not even know what he was doing was wrong.

"The public need to have confidence police officers will act with the utmost integrity and not abuse their powers," he said.

"Wilson's actions could seriously undermine that confidence his exploitive behaviour will not be tolerated in West Mercia Police."