PC sent vulnerable girl messages while drunk

A WEST Yorkshire Police officer sent a vulnerable 14-year-old girl “suggestive” phone messages, a misconduct hearing has been told.

PC Ian Bell, 46, admits sending the messages while off-duty and drunk. They include one which said ‘You like sex?’ and another which read ‘Please delete everything’.

He accepts his actions amounted to misconduct but denies gross misconduct, a sackable offence.

The girl was living in a children’s home and PC Bell had been investigating reports that another young resident had gone missing, the hearing in Wakefield was told yesterday. He visited the home on July 19 last year and spoke to the girl.

In the early hours of the next day, he began sending her messages via the social media application Snapchat which had “no legitimate policing purpose”, said Claire Watson, representing the force’s Professional Standards Directorate.

At first, the girl told the children’s home staff she thought she had a “Snapchat stalker” and did not know who was sending the messages, the hearing was told.

Ms Watson said that at about 1am the girl then asked a member of staff: “If it was a police officer who sent the messages, what would happen if he could come and find me?”

PC Bell has worked for the force for 23 years and was based in the Wakefield district, the hearing was told.

Adam Birkby, representing PC Bell, said: “This is a case of drunken idiocy and not a sophisticated attempt to exploit a vulnerable person for sexual purposes.”

Giving evidence, PC Bell said he rated his drunkenness as eight out of 10 on the night in question and started sending the messages after his wife went to bed. He said he got the girl’s Snapchat details from her Facebook profile and wanted to thank her for her help in the missing person’s enquiry, as well as giving her advice.

He said he then shut down the conversation because he had “panicked” at how it could be misconstrued.

He said: “I was off-duty, intoxicated, talking to a 14-year-old person.

“I let the force down and I let myself down.”

Cross-examining PC Bell, Ms Watson said he had been sending the messages for no other reason than his “own sexual gratification”.

He denied having a sexual motive, adding: “My wording could have been a lot better.”

The misconduct panel will decide today whether PC Bell should be dismissed.