By Tony O’Reilly-
A former Leicestershire Police officer who repeatedly contacted adult sex workers using his personal mobile phone has been found guilty of gross misconduct, raising fresh questions about professional boundaries, police integrity and the protection of vulnerable people within the sex industry.
The officer, whose identity cannot be disclosed because of an anonymity order imposed by the chair of the misconduct hearing, would have been dismissed from the force had he not resigned shortly before disciplinary proceedings began. He has now been added to the police barred list, preventing him from working in policing in the future.
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The findings followed an investigation directed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), with enquiries undertaken by Leicestershire Police’s Counter-Corruption Unit under the direction of the force’s Anti-Corruption and Covert Investigations Unit. After a two-day hearing, a disciplinary panel concluded on 5 November 2026 that the officer had committed gross misconduct by breaching the standards of professional behaviour relating to honesty and integrity, as well as discreditable conduct.
The investigation uncovered evidence that the officer had used his personal mobile phone to contact sex workers on numerous occasions. Investigators identified more than a dozen telephone numbers on the device associated with advertisements offering sexual services. Particularly concerning was the frequency of the contact in December 2024, when the officer repeatedly called individuals advertising such services within a single month.
When questioned about the allegations, the officer offered an explanation that raised further questions about his credibility. He claimed that somebody else had borrowed his phone on one particular occasion and had used it to contact multiple people offering sexual services.
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However, he told investigators that he could not remember who had borrowed the device. The disciplinary panel ultimately found that his conduct amounted to gross misconduct, concluding that the relevant professional standards had been breached.
The seriousness of the findings is heightened by the officer’s professional background. According to IOPC Director of Engagement Emily Barry, he had experience working in safeguarding, vulnerability and modern slavery. This meant he should have understood the risks associated with the sex industry, including the possibility that individuals offering sexual services might be vulnerable to coercion, exploitation or abuse.
Barry emphasised that National Police Chiefs’ Council guidance is clear that officers must not establish inappropriate or unprofessional relationships with sex workers. She warned that conduct of this nature has the potential to undermine public confidence in policing, particularly when an officer’s professional responsibilities include protecting vulnerable individuals.
The case also raises wider concerns about the relationship between police officers and people working in the sex industry. Sex workers may be reluctant to report violence, exploitation, trafficking or other crimes because of fears about stigma, discrimination or how they might be treated by authorities.
The expectation that police officers will act impartially and professionally is therefore especially important. Any suggestion that an officer is pursuing inappropriate personal contact can damage the confidence necessary for vulnerable people to seek help.
There have been several significant historical cases in which police misconduct involving sex workers or vulnerable women has exposed serious failures of professional judgement and institutional oversight. One particularly relevant example is the case of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who murdered Sarah Everard in March 2021.
Subsequent investigations exposed serious warning signs in his conduct and failures within the police vetting and misconduct systems. The case prompted profound questions about the ability of police forces to identify and address inappropriate behaviour before it escalates into more serious harm.
Another disturbing example is the case of serial rapist and former Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick, whose offences involved the abuse of his position of trust and authority against multiple women over many years.
His conviction in 2023 exposed substantial shortcomings in how allegations and warning signs had been handled by policing institutions. Although the Leicestershire case is fundamentally different in nature and seriousness, both examples underline the importance of professional integrity and the need for forces to take potential misconduct seriously.
It would be wrong to equate the conduct established in the Leicestershire disciplinary hearing with the grave criminal offences committed by Couzens or Carrick. Nevertheless, these historical cases demonstrate why inappropriate relationships, dishonesty and failures to respect professional boundaries cannot simply be dismissed as private matters occurring outside working hours.
Police officers remain subject to standards of professional behaviour even when they are off duty. Their position carries responsibilities that extend beyond the workplace, particularly where their actions could undermine public trust or compromise their ability to protect those at risk.
The Leicestershire officer’s resignation shortly before the hearing did not prevent the misconduct proceedings from reaching a conclusion. Nor did it spare him the professional consequences: the finding of gross misconduct and his inclusion on the police barred list mean that he cannot return to policing.
The message from the Iopc is about more than a police officer making repeated telephone calls to sex workers. It concerns the responsibilities attached to a position of public trust, the importance of honesty when confronted with allegations and the need to ensure that those entrusted with protecting vulnerable people do not undermine the very confidence on which that protection depends.
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