A Police Service of Northern Ireland officer has been sacked following a Police Ombudsman investigation which uncovered serious misconduct, including initiating a sexual relationship with a woman he met through his duties, failing to declare several conflicts of interest, attempting to alter official records and seeking to involve a colleague in a false account.

Police Ombudsman Jacqui Durkin said the officer's conduct amounted to a "catalogue of corruption" which had "the potential to do serious damage to public trust and confidence in policing."

The Ombudsman's office was asked by the Chief Constable to carry out an independent inquiry after an incident at the end of 2018 in which one woman, referred to as Woman A, reported an assault by another, Woman B. Woman B then made a counter-allegation against Woman A. The officer assigned to the investigation, Police Officer A, asked a colleague, Police Officer B, to take a statement from Woman B.

Police Officer B did not reveal that he had been in a sexual relationship with Woman A in 2016 and remained in social contact with her. Within 24 hours of meeting Woman B to record her statement, he contacted her via Facebook and Snapchat and a sexual relationship began. They moved in together shortly afterwards and later had a child; the relationship ended in early 2020.

Commenting on the officer's actions after he had already created a conflict of interest, Ms Durkin said: "Every action he took from the point he chose not to disclose his original conflict of interest with Woman A compounded his failure.

"It is appalling that within 24 hours of meeting Woman B, he had taken advantage of his position as a police officer to contact her and to form an inappropriate relationship with her.

"The power imbalance between a police officer and a woman who is not only accused of a crime but has also alleged that she was a victim of a crime herself, could not be more stark.

"Police Officers know the standards which are expected of them and the professional boundaries which they must not cross."

Around five weeks after taking Woman B's handwritten statement, Police Officer B produced a typed version, altered the date it was taken, and brought it to his home for her to sign. She told Ombudsman investigators she did not understand the implications of the altered document but said her account of events had not changed.

Investigators found he had also replaced his own name on the statement with that of Police Officer A. He asked Police Officer A to sign, claiming he knew Woman B because she lived near some of his family. Police Officer A refused and reported the matter to his supervising sergeant. Although the sergeant did not recall being told about the second statement, both versions were located in PSNI records, and the Ombudsman confirmed the original, unaltered statement was sent to the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPS).

A further undisclosed conflict of interest emerged: a week before he first met Woman B to take her statement, Police Officer B had been appointed the investigating officer for an assault allegation involving Woman B's former boyfriend. That case continued until March 2019, overlapping with his relationship with Woman B. Despite knowing the man was her ex-partner, he did not disclose that he was in an intimate relationship with her, living with her and that she was expecting his child. "At this point, Police Officer B has not one, but three separate conflicts of interest in ongoing criminal investigations. He has not disclosed his original relationship with Woman A. He has not disclosed his relationship with Woman B and also attempted to conceal it by falsifying an official record and trying to make a colleague complicit in his lie. And finally, he has not disclosed that he is investigating Woman B's ex-boyfriend.

"Each of these conflicts compromised his position as a police officer and brought his integrity, independence and impartiality into question at any future criminal proceedings. This behaviour can do serious damage to public trust and confidence in policing and it is vital that officers who choose to behave in this way know there will be serious consequences," said Ms Durkin.

The Ombudsman's investigation also examined a separate 2021 incident involving another woman who had previously been in a relationship with Police Officer B. She reported receiving an anonymous, threatening letter containing an intimate photograph and a warning that more images would be sent to her family. The letter arrived shortly after the officer learned he was under investigation over his contact with vulnerable women. She said she had only shared the photograph with him. Two weeks earlier she had also received a notification that he had downloaded all images she had sent.

A search of the officer's phone identified 51 images of the woman, including photos similar to the one posted anonymously to her.

"Members of the public rightly expect police officers to behave ethically and uphold the highest professional standards. In this case, they have been failed by someone who did not declare a conflict of interest at any time and who abused his position for sexual purposes, one of the most serious forms of police corruption.

"One case of this kind of abuse of position for sexual purposes is one case too many. However, these cases account for 36% of the most serious cases under investigation currently by my Office.

"This officer abused his position with a woman who was vulnerable, given she was not only accused of a crime but also alleged she was a victim of crime. He lied, he attempted to get a colleague to support his deceit and he sought to bully and intimidate a woman he had previously been in a relationship with.

"This was not a series of mistakes. It was calculated behaviour from the moment this police officer chose not to declare his first conflict of interest until he was reported, arrested, suspended and dismissed. This was a catalogue of corruption," said Ms Durkin.

At the end of the investigation, a file was sent to the PPS, which directed no prosecution. A misconduct file was then referred to the PSNI's Professional Standards Department. A PSNI misconduct panel found Police Officer B had breached the PSNI Code of Ethics and he was dismissed.

Police Ombudsman investigators arrested Police Officer B during the inquiry. In a related search, a USB stick containing the entire contents of a missing person's laptop was found. A separate Ombudsman investigation determined he had committed gross misconduct in that matter, for which he received a final written warning.

Those affected by the issues raised in the investigation can seek support from Victim Support NI, whose services are confidential and free. Details are available at victimsupportni.com.