A detective constable has been sacked for gross misconduct after a panel decided he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl.
A misconduct hearing at Gloucestershire Police headquarters heard Det Con Nicholas Henry met the schoolgirl on a social networking site when she was just 15 and he was 24.
She appeared topless on a webcam for him and they also exchanged sexually explicit images before meeting up for the first time after she turned 16 and having sex.
On one occasion, Det Con Henry acted out a “rape fantasy” with the teenager – only stopping when he realised she was not consenting.
The hearing was told the relationship between them continued until the girl turned 18 and went to university.
He denied the allegations and maintained he had only had a three-month relationship with her when she was 16.
The complainant – known only as Witness A – disclosed details of the relationship to an off-duty police sergeant at a weekend hen party in 2023 during a discussion about the murder of Sarah Everard and police misogyny.
The matter was reported to Gloucestershire Police’s professional standards department. At the time of the investigation being launched, Det Con Henry was working for the force’s rape and serious sexual offences unit.
He had submitted a statement, denying gross misconduct, but the panel found all the allegations proven.
“The offences committed were intentional and deliberate and as a police officer he held a position of trust and responsibility,” said assistant chief constable Arman Mathieson, who chaired the panel.
“There was sexual impropriety and an element of an abuse of a position of trust and the initiation of a sexual relationship with a vulnerable person as she was under 18 and a child.
“The conduct involved violence against women and girls – a matter of national scrutiny.
“We found culpability was high. We found malign intent and sexual misconduct, as well as attempting to blame others.”
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In mitigation, Mr Mathieson said the conduct occurred 15 years ago and was not deemed criminal.
Det Con Henry has been dismissed without notice and entered on a barred list, preventing him from working in policing again.
Steve Noonan, director of operations for the Independent Office for Police Conduct, said: “As a police officer in his mid-20s, Det Con Henry would have known that engaging with a then 15-year-old girl online was inappropriate, as was embarking on an intimate relationship after she was 16.
“In our view, his actions were predatory and wholly improper for a serving police officer.”
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