By David Young-
A Warwickshire Police detective who pursued an inappropriate relationship with the mother of a child victim has been given a suspended jail sentence following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
An investigation by The IOPC found that DC John Littlewood exchanged hundreds of messages, many of a sexualised nature, with a woman he met during the course of one of his investigations.
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Littlewood was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 15 months, and ordered to carry out 100 hours of work in the community at Birmingham Crown Court.
The 52-year-old, who worked in the force’s Child Abuse, Trafficking & Exploitation team, had pleaded guilty to one count of improper exercise of police powers and privileges by a constable, contrary to Section 26 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, at an earlier court hearing.
He denied a second charge in relation to another woman. That matter will lie on file.
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The IOPC investigation began in December 2023 following a referral from Warwickshire Police and ended in December 2024 when a file of evidence was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who authorised the charges.
Littlewood met the woman- whose anonymity has been granted for legal reasons-in October 2021, when he was assigned to investigate a report of a sexual assault against the woman’s daughter.
Between May and September 2023 , investigators found he exchanged more than 300 messages with the woman, including many of an inappropriate nature. The messages occured by text, facebook, and phone.
One message from Littlewood read: “if you are careless with my messages and don’t delete them you could really drop me in it at work”.
Our investigation also involved CCTV enquiries and cell site mapping of his phone which revealed he met the woman at a Cov
Littlewood himself acknowledged that continuing communication was wrong, telling the woman in one message that he would get into trouble at work if it continued.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found the woman was vulnerable and manipulated by him, and that he had used his professional position to establish a personal relationship with her.
He pleaded guilty to one count of improper exercise of police powers and privileges, a criminal offence under UK law for misuse of position by an officer.
At Birmingham Crown Court, he was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 15 months, and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Suspended Sentences
In the UK, a suspended sentence order (SSO) allows a court to impose a custodial sentence without immediate imprisonment, subject to compliance with certain conditions.
The judge must be satisfied that the offence is serious enough that neither a fine nor a community sentence is justified. The custodial term must be within legal limits (typically up to 2 years in England & Wales under current law).
The Sentencing Council guidance and statutory framework suggest a suspended sentence may be appropriate where there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in the community.
Strong personal mitigation (e.g., personal or health circumstances) and the offender does not present a high risk of reoffending or harm.
Immediate custody would cause significant harm to others (e.g., family impact).
While suspended, the sentence can include conditions such as unpaid work, curfews, or rehabilitation requirements. Failure to comply, or committing another offence during the suspension period, will typically trigger the activation of the original custodial term (i.e. he goes to prison).
There is no central official UK statistic publicly reporting how many police officers specifically have received suspended sentences for misconduct or criminal offences. However, related data gives context:
Police Misconduct Cases
In England & Wales, thousands of conduct matters are finalised each year; for example, data shows 4,486 identifiable police officers were involved in finalised misconduct allegations in the year to March 2024.
Such misconduct proceedings include both misconduct and gross misconduct, but this dataset does not break down criminal convictions or whether the court imposed suspended sentences.
In Littlewood’s case, the suspended sentence likely reflected mitigating factors judged by the court (e.g., personal circumstances and prospects for rehabilitation) and the specific nature of his offence falling short of a mandatory immediate prison threshold.
Littlewood also paid frequent visits to Female X’s home which aroused the suspicions of a support worker who raised concerns with Warwickshire Police’s Professional Standards Department.
IOPC Director of Engagement Derrick Campbell, said: “Female X is a vulnerable woman who has clearly been manipulated by DC Littlewood. He met her while on duty and used that contact to start up a friendship which led to inappropriate contact including sexualised messages.
“The officer clearly knew his behaviour was improper as he told her to delete messages, some of which were sent while on duty, as they would get him into trouble at work.
“Police professional standards are clear that officers should never use their position to establish or pursue improper relationships with any victims, witness, offenders or other vulnerable person and never enter into inappropriate communication.
“Littlewood completed an integrity health check on 18 September 2023 confirming he understood the Code of Ethics and Professional Boundaries. However. we found he exchanged hundreds of messages with her and it’s clear he deleted many more.”
DC Littlewood – who recently retired from the force – will now face an accelerated gross misconduct hearing for breaching police professional standards and we will be liaising with Warwickshire Police to progress this as quickly as possible.
He first came into contact with the woman in the context of an official police investigation involving her daughter, who had been a victim of sexual abuse.
During and after the investigation, Littlewood and the woman exchanged numerous messages by text and Facebook and spoke on the phone. Some of these messages were sexualised and provocative in nature.
Littlewood himself acknowledged that continuing communication was wrong, telling the woman in one message that he would get into trouble at work if it continued.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found the woman was vulnerable and manipulated by him, and that he had used his professional position to establish a personal relationship with her.
He pleaded guilty to one count of improper exercise of police powers and privileges, a criminal offence under UK law for misuse of position by an officer.
At Birmingham Crown Court, he was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 15 months, and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Legal Grounds for Suspended Sentences in England & Wales
In the UK, a suspended sentence order (SSO) allows a court to impose a custodial sentence without immediate imprisonment, subject to compliance with certain conditions.
It is a custodial sentence: the judge must be satisfied that the offence is serious enough that neither a fine nor a community sentence is justified.
The custodial term must be within legal limits (typically up to 2 years in England & Wales under current law).
Judges have discretion to suspend the sentence if appropriate, rather than imposing immediate custody.
The Sentencing Council guidance and statutory framework suggest a suspended sentence may be appropriate where there is: A realistic prospect of rehabilitation in the community.
A suspended sentence can also be passed where there is strong personal mitigation like personal or health circumstances or the offender does not present a high risk of reoffending or harm.
It can also be considered where immediate custody would cause significant harm to others (e.g., family impact).
Conversely, a suspended sentence is generally not appropriate if: the offender poses a substantial risk to the public or the seriousness of the offence demands immediate custody.
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