A hearing was told Monday that a Sussex Police sergeant sent a naked selfie to a woman who had complained that she had been sexually assaulted in a bar.
The sergeant confessed that he was so aroused by her that he would have sexually assaulted her himself, reported Daily Mail.
Mogaznews En reported that the sergeant made the alleged comment after she approached the cop and told him that she had been sexually assaulted in a pub and wanted to make an official complaint about it. The revelations were made at a disciplinary hearing where the serving cop faces allegations that his behavior amounted to gross misconduct.
If they are proven then the Sussex Police sergeant could be forced to quit, but he has been granted anonymity to keep his identity a secret. This has sparked fury from rape charities. They feel that it erodes trust and confidence in the police. Jayne Butler of Rape Crisis said that granting anonymity to "officers accused of misconduct does nothing to build up public trust," and that it speaks to a "culture of misogyny, where the reputation of a police officer trumps the safety of women and girls."
The hearing heard that the alleged incident happened in March 2014. At the time, the woman and her two sisters were enjoying a night out in Hastings, East Sussex. The women were drinking in Yates wine bar when Female A was groped by a man. He put his "hand up her skirt and groped her bottom and and vagina over her clothing," said Cecily White, for Sussex Police.
He was evicted from the bar and the victim stepped out to report the attack to cops. To take a witness statement, the sergeant, who was on patrol in the town centre, sat the woman in the front of his car. As he took her statement, he allegedly started making "sexually suggestive" and "flirtatious" remarks to her. He allegedly told her that he liked her short dress. The disciplinary hearing was told he then told her he wanted to take her home and tie her up.
White said that the cop said that he wanted to take her home and use "his handcuffs on her and tie her up. He said something on the lines of 'Fair play to the guy for grabbing her bottom' as if he understood why he had done it saying, 'I would have done the same myself.'"
The sergeant took her mobile phone number and later he sent a full-length naked selfie to her. She bumped into the cop again in court months later when the sex offender went on trial. He was convicted for the sexual assault against her. He asked her why she had not replied to his messages. He again became "flirtatious and suggestive." The woman did not reply to his flirtatious comments.
The victim did not make a formal complaint as she was scared. She had deleted evidence from her phone, including the naked selfie as well as the flirtatious comments. She reported the incident in 2020 after the cop's name popped up in an unconnected matter.
