Northumbria officer who sent sexual text struck off

PC Steve Newman sent a message to the fellow officer “out of the blue” in the early hours saying he wanted to have “pure sweaty, breathtakingly great sex” with her in October 2023.

A misconduct hearing at Houghton Le Spring Police Station ruled his comments were inappropriate and amounted to sexual harassment.

A month later at a Northumbria Police work Christmas party he started to make complimentary comments about her to another colleague who she was dating, then “took hold of the back of [her] head, pulled her towards [him], and kissed her on the forehead”.

The woman, who is referred to only as Officer A, said she was left “shocked” PC Newman had texted her in the early hours of the morning making “sexually explicit suggestions out of the blue”.

She told the hearing she “could not believe the audacity” of PC Newman, adding she “would not touch [him] with a bargepole”.

Officer A stated her relationship with PC Newman was “strictly work based” and the pair did not see each other outside of it.

She told the three-day hearing how on October 30, 2024, Newman had approached her at work asking if she was attending the Christmas party. He then asked if she had a partner within the police force, which she did not want to disclose. When PC Newman went to leave, she said he turned and shouted across the room, “Well, I’ll book a taxi early so that we can go back to yours”.

Officer A said she saw this as a sexual advance and felt “mortified” and “wanted the ground to swallow [her] up.”

While at the Christmas party a month later, Officer A said Newman approached her and her partner on the dance floor, saying “you look lovely in your dress”, which made her feel “very uncomfortable”.

The hearing heard how Newman then grabbed Officer A around the back of the head and kissed her on the forehead.

The woman said she was “disgusted” by his behaviour, and that Newman had “sexually assaulted [her] in front of [her] partner.”

She said the events with Newman had emotionally impacted her and her career.

PC Newman told the hearing that he “thought he had a friendship” with the woman, and that she had previously “confided in him” about personal information.

He also said he was a “very huggy person”, who would greet colleagues with “hello, you’re looking handsome” or “all reet bonny lass”. 

During the hearing, he accepted the content of the message was sent “to see if there was any interest in anything purely sexual”.

PC Newman also said he sent it because “shy bairns get nowt”.

He said he kissed Officer A on the forehead as he is “very huggy with both male and female friends.”

He also admitted in evidence that he did have a sexual interest in Officer A, had always been attracted to her, and he was “testing the waters”.

The panel stated the case was of a high seriousness, and his actions amounted to sexual harassment.

It said immediate dismissal without notice was the only proportionate sanction.

PC Newman will also be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list.