PC sentenced for moonlighting with an escort service

A female police officer caught advertising escort services on a website has been sentenced to 15 months in prison.

The former Northumbria Police officer, Victoria Thorne, advertised herself under a false name on a website called The Nortorious Girls.

The 28-year-old admitted misconduct at Newcastle Crown Court last week, when it was revealed she had worked as a prostitute since 2006 earning £100 an hour.

Delivering the Sentence last Thursday, September 10, Judge John Evans told her: “It is plain that those who thought they knew you, and knew you well, are at a loss as to how you came to be involved in such a seedy world.”

Ms Thorne was first investigated when senior officers became suspicious about her use of police computers to make checks on brothel owners and prostitutes.

The initial investigation by Northumbria Police exposed a lucrative vice trade operating under the guise of The Notorious Girls Escort Services, spanning the north of England and the Scottish Borders.

The investigation uncovered Ms Thorne`s links to 28-year-old Neil Lock who, with his wife, ran a series of brothels based in houses throughout Newcastle, Sunderland, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.

The couple was responsible for the Notorious Girls escort website, which included photos of their prostitutes, and listed their services, prices and activities.

They took 30 per cent of the sex workers` costs for arranging their meetings with clients.

Neil Lock was jailed for four years for running brothels, managing prostitutes, and aiding and abetting Thorne`s misconduct.

Ms Thorne will serve half of her 15-month sentence in prison, less the 161 days she has been on remand since she admitted misconduct in a public office.

Detective Inspector Andy Jones from the Counter Corruption Unit at Northumbria Police, said: “The overwhelming majority of Northumbria Police officers and staff behave with great integrity and professionalism. However, the small number of staff who do not behave in this way can have the potential to compromise both the operations and reputation of the force and their honest and professional colleagues.

“The public should have real confidence in Northumbria Police`s Counter Corruption Unit which has robust systems in place to take action if it is suspected that those standards are not being maintained.

“In this case Vicky Thorne showed complete disregard for both the law and our own high standards and paid the price through the loss of her career and freedom.”