A former police officer has been found guilty of gross misconduct by a panel, which found that they had acted in an inappropriate manner towards female colleagues, amounting to misogynistic conduct and harassment. The hearing, led by an Independent Legally Qualified Chair, was held at Sussex Police headquarters on April 27, and the officer was granted anonymity by the LQC after making legal representations before the hearing.
The former officer, referred to as Officer X, was accused of two allegations of sexual touching and one count of voyeurism that occurred off-duty in 2018 and 2019, and the victims were known to the former officer. Although they were arrested and charged with the offenses, they were found not guilty in a trial in May 2021. The former officer later resigned in November 2021, and the force’s Professional Standards Department referred the matter to a hearing in line with its robust stance on rooting out misconduct to maintain high standards.
