Former Lancashire Police officer Darren Coathup 'took advantage of his status and power', a court heard
A police officer who 'took advantage of his status and power' and slept with a domestic violence victim and sexted another has been jailed by a judge who said such crimes affected public trust in the police at a time 'when it had been so seriously undermined.'
She was the second woman he had met through his work he formed a relationship with, having also exchanged sexual messages, pictures and videos with another alleged crime victim who said he 'preyed on her' after she reported her ex had assaulted her. Passing sentence, Judge Conrad told him: "Offences of this nature strike at public confidence in our police forces, a most important factor when public trust has been so seriously undermined.
"The defence point out these were consensual relationships" he added. "That is true, but if they weren't there would be other serious charges here." It emerged Coathup had met the first woman in the late spring of 2020 she made a report that her ex-partner had assaulted her and Coathup was the attending officer.
The woman said she ‘felt very embarrassed’ and ‘laughed the comments off’ but was ‘sure he would have had sex with her if she had initiated it' the court was told. The pair began messaging every day with Coathup using both his work and personal mobile. “The messages were largely sexual and clearly demonstrated the defendant taking advantage of his role as a police officer,” the prosecution said.
The woman, who said she was in a 'bad place' after coming out of an 'abusive relationship' said feeling ‘used and dirty.’ Detective Inspector Eugene Swift from the ACU said: “We are committed to upholding the highest possible standards in policing and those who fall foul of those standards will be proactively identified and dealt with – as was demonstrated in this case.
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