Northumbria Police officer sacked over sex with vulnerable woman

The Northumbria Police officer - known as Officer J - sexually assaulted the woman while she was asleep on a sofa

A police officer who had sex with a vulnerable crime victim and sexually assaulted her while she slept has been sacked with immediate effect.

A Northumbria Police panel found the officer - who was accused of sexual assault and having sex while on duty - guilty of gross misconduct.

The 53-year-old, referred to only as Officer J at his misconduct hearing, had claimed the sex was consensual.

The force said it was committed to upholding high standards of behaviour.

It said if officers could not uphold those standards they had no place in the force.

At the hearing in Newcastle earlier, Olivia Checa-Dover, representing the force, said Officer J's behaviour had caused "grave harm in relation to public confidence, which is at its thinnest in any event".

He had been called to the home of the woman, known as Miss A, to investigate a report of criminal damage in May 2004, the disciplinary panel heard.

Daughter witnessed attack

It was told Officer J then went on to have an improper relationship with Miss A, who was a single mother taking medication for depression, until December 2005.

He insisted he only ever had sex with her while he was off duty and said he visited her about five times after the investigation ended.

The panel found that on his final visit, he sexually assaulted her while she was asleep on a sofa, the aftermath of which was witnessed by the woman's daughter.

The officer had claimed he was not aware Miss A was vulnerable.

On Thursday, the panel concluded Officer J's behaviour amounted to gross misconduct by breaching professional standards of behaviour.

On Friday it concluded he should be dismissed without notice.