Sex on duty PC branded a disgrace
A Staffordshire Police officer has been branded a disgrace after being found guilty of five counts of misconduct in public office and one of obtaining personal data.
A Staffordshire Police officer has been branded a disgrace after being found guilty of five counts of misconduct in public office and one of obtaining personal data.
Between 2006 and 2012, PC Adam Rushton engaged in sexual activities with five women while on duty and deliberately targeted vulnerable victims of crime for sexual purposes.
The offences relate to his involvement with seven different women while he was based at Longton police station in Stoke-on-Trent.
At Birmingham Crown Court last week, Rushton, 37, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, was charged with 12 offences: ten counts of misconduct in public office and two counts of knowingly obtaining personal data. He was found not guilty of six charges.
The verdict followed an investigation by Staffordshire Polices Performance and Standards Unit under the management of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Rushton now faces gross misconduct proceedings.
Staffordshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Nick Baker said Rushton was a disgrace to the police service and that he had brought shame on himself, his colleagues and Staffordshire Police.
I would like to apologise to the victims, witnesses and their families who have suffered as a result of Rushtons actions. This was an astonishing breach of trust by an individual officer and he has badly let down vulnerable victims and their families, he said.
As a result of this investigation more robust processes have been put in place to identify any such issues. The public must be able to trust their police officers, and on this occasion they have been let down.
IPCC Commissioner Kathryn Stone said: Rushton completely abused his position of trust and used his job in a calculated manner to satisfy his own sexual desires. I give credit to Staffordshire Police for ultimately conducting a thorough criminal investigation.
At the same time the force has rightly accepted there were limitations in its supervisory processes, has apologised to the victims, and put more robust steps in place to prevent a repeat of such a shocking breach of trust.
Rushton will be sentenced on May 1.