A disgraced police officer who groped two young colleagues on a Christmas night out has been barred from working for any other force in the country.

Former temporary inspector Lee Morgan was caught on CCTV feeling the bottoms of the two women during a night out in Yarm last December.

The drunken 45-year-old maintained he had no recollection of the events of the evening after an investigation was launched following a complaint about his sexually inappropriate behaviour.

The 20-year veteran at Cleveland Police quit the force after pleading guilty to two charges of sexual assault when he appeared before Teesside Magistrates’ Court last month.

A police disciplinary hearing was told that the ex-officer was the most senior person on the night out and was expected to lead by example but his actions in the Black Bull and Osbournes was a clear breach of acceptable behaviour.

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Detective Chief Inspector John Bonner, representing Cleveland Police, said the former officer had shown little insight into the consequences of his behaviour and called for Morgan to be barred from working for any other police force.

He said: “They should have been able to trust him to the ends of the earth and act as a role model instead he acted without a shred of integrity.”

DCI Bonner said that allegations about another officer’s behaviour on December 15 had been investigated and resulted in no criminal charges being laid.

He added: “For 11 months he knew what he had done and ought to have known the impact it would have on the victims and witnesses yet he chose to ignore it.”

Morgan declined to attend the hearing but Roger Whiteley, the ex-officer’s welfare representative, read out a statement on behalf of Morgan.

“I have made stupid mistakes through intoxication, mental health and bad decision making, which often go hand in hand.

“I have done wrong but the punishment far, far outweighs the crime.”

The offences took place on December 15, 2021, at Yarm, he intentionally touched a female aged 16 or over, namely witnesses A and B’s bottoms, and that touching was sexual when she did not consent and you did not reasonably believe that she was consenting.

Chief Constable Mark Webster ruled that the admission of gross misconduct would have resulted in dismissal without notice and placed Morgan on the College of Policing’s barred list.

He said: “It is unacceptable for officers who are responsible for enforcing the law to break the law themselves.

“There can be no place in policing for an officer who conducts himself in this way. If he was still a serving officer he would have been dismissed without notice.”

  • Morgan will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on December 12 after pleading guilty to the sexual assault charges.

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