‘Predatory’ police officer dismissed after sending sexual messages to vulnerable 14-year-old girl
28 December 2024, 13:37
A police officer has been dismissed for sending sexual messages to a vulnerable 14-year-old girl he had met during the course of his duties.
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PC Matthew Hunt at Nottinghamshire Police acted with "predatory sexual intent" by sending her messages that referenced sexual activity and were "personal in tone", a misconduct panel found on Friday.
The conversations took place over the course of a week and emerged when the child's school became aware of an apparent plan to meet for "something to eat", the panel said.
The panel found that Hunt’s actions were premeditated, and amount to child sexual exploitation with the intention of sexually abusing the girl, named as Child A.
Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police, Ivan Balhatchet, chaired the panel and said in the written decision: "This is a case of a police officer involved in child sexual exploitation, intended, I find, to lead to sexual abuse.
"This is premeditated, planned, targeted, and involves deliberate or predatory steps.
"This case reveals both a sexual attraction to children but also the arrogance of a police officer thinking he could get away with it."
Hunt sought to move communication to private channels "to reduce the chances of being caught", Mr Balhatchet said.
He added that the child was vulnerable "both because of her age and other factors".
"As the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police, I am appalled. This officer is a disgrace to the force and the wider police service," he added.
Hunt was dismissed without notice after being found to have committed gross misconduct.
He did not attend the remote proceedings and Mr Balhatchet said Hunt had "chosen to disengage from the process", with no character evidence or other personal mitigation submitted to the panel.
The officer had previously admitted his actions, that they amounted to gross misconduct by discreditable conduct, and had offered his resignation.
He was still a serving officer at the time of the Friday's hearing and was subject to an interim protective Sexual Risk Order, the panel said.
Hunt was found to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in respect of discreditable conduct, authority respect and courtesy, and honesty and integrity.
Mr Balhatchet said: "The priority of the police service is to protect the most vulnerable in society.
"This officer has done the exact opposite and done so deliberately for his own perverted reasons.
"Child A and her family may need the assistance of the police in the future. Granted the evidence in the bundle that seems to me a realistic possibility.
"There is a significant risk here that the family, and others in similar positions, might be slow to trust police officers, or unable to trust them fully, due to PC Hunt's actions.
"There is also the question of their trust in professionals more widely, which is likely to be undermined by PC Hunt's predatory behaviour."
He added: "I would like to say that I am so sorry to the victim, her family and the public of Northamptonshire."
