The police siren at the heart of a love triangle
The betrayed husband of Sgt Sarah Porter, the officer involved in the ‘sex on duty’ case, has accused her of having three affairs
BRIGHTON may have a reputation as one of the UK’s prime “dirty weekend” destinations but a love triangle at the heart of the region’s police force is shocking even the locals. Two officers on the East Sussex force are currently under investigation for allegations they enjoyed a sexual relationship together while on duty – hooking up for illicit rendezvous in police cars and canoodling at police stations. Both are married – to other people.
Sergeant Sarah Porter and Chief Inspector Rob Leet are facing a gross misconduct enquiry – with claims that they not only carried on their affair when they should have been on duty, but “manufactured” a reason to meet at an East Sussex police station.
It is said that the couple quickly became the subject of gossip in the force and the rumours came to the attention of both Porter’s husband Nick and the Sussex Police professional standards department.
Nick Porter, 46, has claimed that his wife and Ch Insp Leet had met repeatedly while they were supposed to be on duty, kissing in a parked police car, as well as at the station.
He has also said that far from being a one-off fling, the couple had been meeting for 18 months – and even that Leet was the third married man with whom Sarah had betrayed him.
“She admitted meeting Rob in a lay-by and in a police station while on duty and kissing,” he says. “But she later told me the relationship had stopped.
“We started to rebuild our marriage. She has since told me it did carry on intermittently until she was served with the gross misconduct papers and that is when I found out about her ongoing relationship. She has only admitted kissing to me but I fear it went beyond kissing.
“It is not the first time this has happened – to my knowledge this is the third time she has had an affair with a married man.”
NEITHER officer has been suspended and in a statement Sussex Police said: “The Professional Standards Department (PSD) of Sussex Police is in the early stages of a gross misconduct investigation following an allegation of on-duty sexual activity between two serving officers.”
The Police Federation, which is representing Sgt Porter and Ch Insp Leet, insists there is no evidence the pair had sex – and that they are simply the victims of malicious rumours.
Inspector Matt Webb, the chairman of the Federation, said: “I am told by the investigators at this time there has been no evidence found that supports the original allegation and the investigation is looking a great deal less serious than it did. There may be some low-level misconduct that is identified, and that will be dealt with in the usual way.”
However for Mr Porter the revelations have been devastating. A former police sergeant himself, after leaving the force he set up nursery and childminding company Total Childcare Services, as well as the Little Skaters Nursery and Pre-School in St Leonards, with Sarah as fellow director of the company.
The couple have been married for 12 years, and Nick is a prominent member of the East Sussex community, playing cricket for the local Bexhill-on-Sea team – and Daily Express Saturday March 18 2017 also helping to raise thousands of pounds for a range of good causes as chair of the Community Services Committee for the Bexhill Lions group. He and Sarah also have an eight-year-old daughter together.
But since the most recent allegations came to light, Nick and Sarah have separated and she left the family home in Bexhill last month.
“The impact of this has been massive,” he says. “Sarah and I have a young child and this is having a huge impact on the whole family.
“I’m divorcing Sarah, she is no longer living with me. I am absolutely devastated. I had complete faith in her.”
He has also said that the timing is doubly hard as he is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
Sergeant Porter, who has a 15-year record in the force, serving in Hastings, Rother and Bexhill, has refused to comment on the allegations.
Ch Insp Leet, however, has insisted there is no truth in them. “I’ve been hung out to dry,” he says. “The effect this has had on me, my family, the children, on work – it’s absolutely devastating.”
Leet, 43, a former district commander for the Lewes area and now the head of local policing for the county, has been married to wife Sarah, a florist, for 22 years. The couple have three sons and he insists his wife is wholly supportive of him – and he has rejected claims of any affair with Porter as “completely untrue”.
HE SAYS: “The Federation has made it quite clear there is no case of gross misconduct here and that was fairly evident early on. It’s damaging family-wise, every single one of my friends knows, career-wise – that’s my reputation now.”
However, this is not the first scandal to hit the Sussex Police force in recent months. Since Christmas two officers have been sacked – and a third was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Inspector Tony Lumb, of the Brighton force, has been suspended while an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission probes allegations he had improper sexual relationships with women in the course of his duties.
Last month, PC Mark Scruby was dismissed after he “repeatedly” shared a sexually explicit image with colleagues at Crawley police station, before sending it to his boss, Detective Sergeant Isobel Lee, suggesting she bore a resemblance to the porn star.
Another Sussex officer, PC Daniel Moss, was dismissed in December after it emerged he was working as a male escort while at the same time claiming sick leave from his station in Hastings.
It was alleged that he was charging £210 an hour for sexual services – with the services of his partner Tracey Perryman included in the price.
The Police Federation continues to downplay the alleged affair between Sergeant Porter and Ch Insp Leet: for the time being, both officers remain in their posts and a local member of the body has stated that the serving of papers is not an admission of any inappropriate behaviour.
But whatever the findings of the gross misconduct enquiry, it is unlikely that for any of the three people caught up in the love triangle life will ever be the same.
“It would not surprise me if Sarah had lured Rob into this,” said Nick Porter. “It’s not the first time this has happened. I think it is unfortunate for Rob and his family that Sarah has put him in this dreadful position.”