Forres police officer sexually assaulted colleague

A former Moray police officer who was sexually assaulted by a fellow officer has called on Police Scotland to take whistleblowers more seriously.

Gemma MacRae, 33, who waived anonymity, was groped by her colleague Scott Gallop in 2017.

He was originally investigated as part of a probe into allegations of bullying and misogyny at Forres police station.

The 53-year-old has been given a one-year community payback order and put on the sex offenders register for a year.

The former RAF veteran, who has since retired from Police Scotland, was earlier convicted of touching Ms MacRae on her bottom and other parts of her body.

Scott Gallop was described as a respected officer who knew he was abusing his position of trust

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs said Gallop's conduct "fell far below the high standards of professional behaviour the public rightly expects of a police officer".

The force's executive lead for professionalism and assurance added: "It takes a great deal of courage to report sexual assault and I understand how much more challenging that must be when the offender is a police officer."

The sexual assault was the only prosecution and conviction to result from the 15-month Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) probe at the Forres station.

The report made allegations against seven police officers but the Crown Office ultimately determined there was insufficient evidence of criminality in relation to six of them.

Gemma MacRae said she went through a "grieving process" when she left Police Scotland as she loved her job

Ms MacRae, who now lives in Norway, told the BBC that Police Scotland needed to seriously consider how it treated whistleblowers and needed to address the failings made by its management in her case.

"I've got mixed emotions really," she said. "It's good that part is finished because that's been five years but there are many things I've never had closure for.

"No-one to this day has been held accountable.

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"It's been devastating in so many more ways than one. It's impacted on me personally as I'm completely changed as a person so I've had to try and deal with that.

"Then there's the loss of the career that I absolutely loved and there was a massive grieving process when i had to finally make the decision that I had to leave.

"It's very hard for me to put into words how much it's cost - its not just me, it's cost my family members and there's been so many consequential effects from what's happened."

Ms MacRae has left the force and now lives in Norway

She highlighted the fact that Police Scotland has been promoting the fact the force is not going to stand for misogyny and sexism but said: "Unfortunately they're not supporting the whistleblowers so it's counteracting what they're saying.

"Its very hard to appreciate what they're saying because I've experienced something else.

"There have been whistleblowers before me speaking out. Everyone's been hoping that it's going to change - but nothing has changed."

She added that her main wish was for Police Scotland to welcome whistleblowers and give them support.

"We need to stop this idea that if police officers commit a crime it's somehow different," she said. "We are no different.

"Police officers and members of the public should be treated equally when it comes to the justice system and until i can see evidence of that, I won't believe it."

Gallop was originally investigated as part of a probe into allegations of bullying and misogyny at Forres police station

Speaking about the investigation into allegations of bullying and misogyny, Assistant Chief Constable Speirs, said: "The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) conducted an independent Crown-directed investigation and Police Scotland fully assisted with those inquiries.

"Since this investigation, Police Scotland assessed a number of matters and - although conduct proceedings are private - appropriate action was taken to address behaviour that was not in line with our values of integrity, fairness, respect and upholding human rights.

"Recruitment and postings have been reviewed to bring additional perspective and experience into the Moray area and the staffing profile both in leadership roles and with probationary constables has transformed, enabling renewed focus on our values."

'Utterly unacceptable'

He added: "Misogyny, sexism and discrimination of any kind is utterly unacceptable - it has no place in society and no place in policing. In September we outlined action to address injustice and disadvantage in both society and the organisation under our Policing Together strategy."

Commenting on Gallop's sentence, Andy Shanks, procurator fiscal for Grampian, Highland and Islands, said: "Herbert Scott Gallop was a respected police officer who knew he was abusing his position of trust.

"It took courage for the victim to speak out against a figure of some authority and I would commend her determination to seek justice.

"The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service will use all tools at its disposal to ensure offenders face the consequences of their behaviour."