Ex-police officer’s sexual relationship was ‘blatant abuse of trust’

Christopher Cave has been jailed

A former police officer has been put behind bars after he admitted forming a sexual relationship with a crime victim while on duty.

Police said Christopher Cave’s relationship with the victim was a ‘blatant abuse of trust’ with his conduct ‘falling well below the standard expect’ of officers. Cave, from Formby, began the relationship in 2004 while working at Nottinghamshire Police.

This lasted around seven years before the relationship ended in early 2011, reports the Liverpool Echo. The 62-year-old then joined South Yorkshire Police, where the accusations emerged in 2022.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

He was arrested and suspended from his position in June 2022 while employed as an evidence review officer for South Yorkshire Police. Prior to assuming that role, he had worked as a police officer with the force between 2010 and 2017, according to Nottinghamshire Live.

Cave officially resigned from South Yorkshire Police in December 2023. Yesterday (Monday, June 29), Cave was jailed for one year and nine months at Sheffield Crown Court after admitting two counts of misconduct in a public office.

He will now be subject to an internal misconduct hearing once the criminal proceedings have concluded. The detective in charge of the investigation, Detective Constable Nicola Milner, said “Cave crudely and blatantly abused the trust placed in him as a police officer and the victim in this case remains at the forefront of our minds.

“His conduct fell well below the standard that is expected of our officers and we welcome the result of the sentencing in court.”