South Yorkshire PC guilty of sex assault over breasts photo

Paul Hinchcliffe, 46, was found guilty after a trial at Leeds Crown Court

An off-duty police officer who pulled down a woman's top and photographed her breasts has been found guilty of sexual assault.

Paul Hinchcliffe, 46, was convicted at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday.

The South Yorkshire Police officer was drinking at a pub in Wath-upon-Dearne on 3 October 2020 when the offence took place, the court heard.

Hinchcliffe, who has been suspended from police duties, will be sentenced at a later date.

The married father-of-four was drinking with a group including the 18-year-old woman at a Wetherspoons pub, the court heard.

In an interview played to jurors, the woman described how the defendant started flicking foam from the top of his beer onto her glasses, which she first thought was "a laugh".

But then she added: "He was throwing it down my boobs. Then he got his phone and kind of pulled my top open and took a picture down my top."

Hinchcliffe admitted asking if he could send a photograph of the woman's breasts to one of his colleagues.

'I absolutely cried my eyes out '

He also said he sent the woman a series of WhatsApp messages that included sexually explicit emojis.

The victim described how she went back to an empty house and "I just absolutely cried my eyes out - I was absolutely hysterical".

She told detectives the conversation had begun when she was talking about her plans for a "boob job".

She said she had mentioned she had a "chest like a 12-year-old" and Hinchcliffe had said: "You've got a bum like a 12-year-old."

The woman said the incident had left her feeling "guilty" and worried about people looking at her body.

Hinchcliffe told the court he was "mortified" to be on trial and said the woman consented to him taking a photograph of her cleavage.

He admitted sending a picture taken down the woman's top to a colleague but denied pulling the garment down.