Former West Mercia PC barred over sex with abuse victim

Former PC Mark Hidden said he had let himself, his family and West Mercia Police down

A former PC has been barred from policing after a misconduct panel heard he had a sexual relationship with an abuse victim he met while on duty.

Mark Hidden, who worked in Shropshire, improperly accessed police systems to view information about the woman.

A misconduct panel on Tuesday heard he would have been sacked had he not resigned from West Mercia Police.

Mr Hidden had let the victim and public down, said the force, and it was committed to improving professionalism.

The hearing followed an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) between May 2020 and May 2021.

It said Mr Hidden, 42, had visited the woman's house in December 2019 after she had reported a domestic incident.

They then entered into a consensual but inappropriate sexual relationship, the IOPC said, exchanging more than 5,500 messages including sexually graphic images sent from Mr Hidden's work phone.

'Simply not acceptable'

The IOPC said there was also evidence Mr Hidden had sex with the woman while on duty up until April 2020.

A disciplinary panel heard he had accessed information about her using police databases and also breached Covid-19 restrictions when he visited her home during lockdown without a legitimate policing purpose.

IOPC regional director Derrick Campbell said the woman was vulnerable as a victim of crime and Mr Hidden had continued their relationship for months "despite knowing his conduct was wrong".

"Following a gross misconduct hearing, it has been determined that he would have been dismissed had he still been a serving police officer," he said.

Mr Hidden was found to have breached standards of authority, respect, and courtesy; confidentiality; and orders and instruction. He was also found to have behaved with discreditable conduct.

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The IOPC said it had sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider any potential offence but it had decided not to bring any criminal charge.

Following the outcome, West Mercia Police's Deputy Chief Constable Alex Murray said Mr Hidden's actions were "simply not acceptable in any way".

"It has seriously undermined the hard work most officers and staff carry out daily to protect people from harm.

"We make no apology that we have pursued gross misconduct procedures despite him previously resigning from the force."

Mr Hidden did not attend the hearing in Worcester, but in a statement he gave when interviewed by the IOPC he apologised to the victim and said he had let himself, his family, and the West Mercia force down.