A trainee police officer must wait until the morning to learn his fate after being found guilty of carrying out a catalogue of sexually-motivated behaviour.

The Cleveland Police officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was under criminal investigation for a year before he was told he was facing no further action.

owever, he is found to have rubbed himself against a young female recruit during a training exercise as well as making a slew of lewd sexual comments.

Despite being cleared of any criminal wrongdoing he is still facing the sack after he was deemed to have breached professional standards during a six-week period in September and October 2020.

Nick Hawkins, the chairman of the independent panel, said all three complainants were ‘credible’ witnesses during the four-day hearing.

He said none of them embellished their stories and accepted that they had spoken together before the complaints were made to a senior officer.

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Mr Hawkins said: “He has failed to treat colleagues with respect or courtesy. His behaviour was directed towards females and not towards males.”

The trainee officer walked out of the hearing, clearly upset by the ruling, and will have to wait to learn what sanction will be imposed on him.

At times fighting back tears, the first complainant told the independent panel how she was left feeling very upset when he positioned himself behind and rubbed his groin into her during the self-defence training exercise.

She said: “I just wanted it to stop because I was shouting stop, they thought I was just engaging in the training and he wouldn’t stop. That was the scariest part – he just wouldn’t stop.

“I wanted it to stop but it just didn’t.”

The officer said she told other trainees about her experiences and they decided his behaviour needed reporting to a more senior officer.

The force said the officer’s alleged conduct breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to ‘Authority, Respect and Courtesy’, ‘Equality and Diversity’ and ‘Discreditable Conduct’ and amounts to Gross Misconduct.

Other allegations against the trainee included a comment suggesting that a second trainee officer was going to use a ‘vibrator’ when she got home.

The accused officer also made a number of sexualised comments about her having a ‘sexy nurse outfit’ at home.

The independent panel heard how the accused said he was unaware of any problems with any of his fellow trainees until he was ‘hoicked’ out of a training session.

He will learn tomorrow (Friday 25) what sanction he will face as a result of the ruling.

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