A judge said the ‘subtlety’ of the way the defendant sought to control his partner was a product of a ‘cunning plan’, and described the behaviour as ‘insidious’
A police CCTV operator used the force’s network of cameras to monitor his partner’s movements as part of a campaign of controlling and coercive behaviour, a court has heard. Russell Hassler also unlawfully accessed police logs and databases to get hold of sensitive material to manipulate the woman and to “show off” his power and importance.
A judge at Swansea Crown Court described the 43-year-old defendant’s behaviour towards his victim as “insidious” and said it had been done to satisfy his “paranoia and or insecurity”.
Bethan Evans, prosecuting, told the court that Hassler was working as a CCTV operator at Dyfed-Powys Police’s Carmarthen headquarters when the offending happened. She said Hassler’s partner at the time described him as a “Jekyll and Hyde-type character” whose mood could change quickly, and how she felt like she was always “walking on eggshells around him”. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter
The court heard the defendant used his position with the police to track his partner’s movements on CCTV cameras in West Wales, and would let her know what he was doing by taking still pictures of her from the live footage and then sending them to her. One such photo he sent of the woman walking down the street Newcastle Emlyn was accompanied by the caption “stalked”.
The prosecutor said the victim found Hassler’s behaviour “creepy”, and that as a result of his monitoring her movements she became more reluctant to go out with friends as she always felt she was being followed.
On one occasion Hassler took a photo of his partner’s mother in her van from the CCTV footage and sent it to the mum with a message which asked where she was going.
The court heard that the defendant also repeatedly accessed the police intelligence database – known as “Storm logs” – and told his partner about on-going incidents and police investigations. He also accessed information about his partner’s previous contact with the police, and about incidents involving her neighbours.
The court heard that following the ending of the couple’s relationship Hassler accessed the Storm logs to find out information about her new partner.
The defendant’s behaviour was subsequently reported to the police, and on October 18 2023 he was arrested by officers from Dyfed-Powys Police’s professional standards department. He resigned from his police staff position while under investigation by the department.
In an impact statement which was read to the court, the defendant’s former partner said his behaviour had left her feeling anxious and struggling to reconnect with friends. She said the “relentless” nature of Hassler’s abuse had been so “overwhelming” she had questioned whether she could go on, and she said such was the emotional toll the behaviour had taken she had not felt able to return to work.
The court heard that in a report before the court the defendant accepted he had been “showing off his power and importance” in wrongfully accessing the police intelligence logs and sharing the details.
Russell Hassler, of Panteg Cross, Llandysul, Ceredigion, had previously pleaded guilty to engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and to a breach of data protection laws when he returned to the dock for sentencing. He has two previous convictions – the last from 2009 – and four cautions.
Ryan Bowen, for Hassler, said the gravity of the situation the defendant faced was not lost on his client. He said the pre-sentence report detailed the defendant’s past issues with controlled substances but how, at the age of 27, he had “turned his face against those substances and the insidious role they had played in his life” and had then been out of trouble for more than a decade until the offending before the court.
He said the defendant has an adult son and a young daughter, and that he acts as a step-father to his new partner’s children. He added that the new partner – to whom Hassler is engaged – is nine weeks pregnant. The barrister said while the offending crossed the custody threshold, he would invite the court to find that immediate custody could be avoided.
Judge Huw Rees said the “subtlety” of the way Hassler had sought to control his partner was a product of a “cunning plan” on the part of the defendant, and he described the behaviour as “insidious”. He told the defendant that his misuse of his position at Dyfed-Powys Police to get hold of sensitive information had been done “to satisfy your paranoia and or insecurity”.
With a 15% discount for his guilty plea to the coercive behaviour charge – a plea entered shortly before he was due to stand trial – Hassler was sentenced to 17 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and to do 180 hours of unpaid work in the community. For the data protection breach the defendant was fined £500 with 14 days in prison in default of payment.
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