Porn photo police sergeant keeps job

A POlICE sergeant who stuck a photo of a female officer’s face on to a pornographic picture to make a Secret Santa gift kept his job yesterday.

A disciplinary panel said Rob Adams, 37, was trying to be funny rather than cause harm or offence.

The decision, which comes days after an officer from the same police station was let off with a warning for smacking a female officer’s bottom with a ruler, has raised questions about sexism in the ranks.

Sussex Police’s own lawyer James Berry said the latest case undermined confidence in the force ‘particularly from female members of the public and those in the force and those who might want to join’.

Mr Adams, who is married with two children, had already received a written warning for conducting an inappropriate relationship with a junior female officer.

A photograph of his Secret Santa gift was shared on a WhatsApp group with other officers including the woman pictured. On the same chat, the sergeant bombarded colleagues with explicit videos and dozens of smutty comments. He made derogatory remarks about female officers, rated their looks and speculated about their sex lives.

yesterday a disciplinary panel found charges of gross misconduct were proved but the officer, who is based in Hastings, was allowed to keep his job after being handed a final written warning.

Alice Sims, who led the panel in lewes, said: ‘We feel public confidence in the reputation of the police service can be appropriately marked by calling this behaviour as misconduct and issuing a final warning.

‘The intention was humour rather than to cause harm or offence.’