Officer met woman for sex while on duty

A POLICE officer met a woman for sex in a South Wales park while he was on duty.

PC Andrew Legg admitted gross misconduct and resigned after using South Wales Police vehicles to meet a woman for sex – once at a park and once at her home.

The officer sent online messages to “Miss A” and exchanged photos with her on September 9, anticorruption detective inspector Michael Owens told a misconduct hearing yesterday.

“During the conversation he stated he worked in uniform with handcuffs and by that she believed he was a police officer,” DI Owens added.

The pair agreed to meet that evening while PC Legg was on duty. He messaged her shortly before 11pm saying he was in a silver Ford Focus. He parked the unmarked police car outside a Home Bargains store near her home.

They travelled to Porthkerry Country Park in Barry and had consensual sex outside the police car. PC Legg remained at the site for 10 minutes before leaving. His movements were captured by the police car’s tracking system.

Miss A messaged PC Legg: “I love a man in uniform.” He then clocked off at 1am. Less than two weeks later he met Miss A again for onduty sex.

PC Legg was an operational support officer, meaning he had a wideranging role. He was on duty as a police motorcyclist on September 22. He travelled on a force motorbike to Miss A’s home at 12.21pm that day.

DI Owens said: “He went to the home of Miss A, went to her bedroom, took off his police uniform, and had consensual sexual intercourse with her.”

PC Legg left the home before clocking off duty at 7pm. Miss A messaged him: “You do look sexy in your uniform. You blew me away when you turned up like you did.”

Miss A asked the officer: “Do you often turn up to your meets in uniform like that?” PC Legg said he did not.

The force informed PC Legg on September 30 that he was being investigated. In an interview on October 11 he fully admitted the misconduct and said: “It was stupid and unprofessional behaviour and I have no excuse to make for it.”

PC Legg did not attend the hearing yesterday. His representative Danny Ahearn said the officer accepted there was gross misconduct. Mr Ahearn added: “He apologises for the embarrassment he has caused to South Wales Police and his family. He has no previous findings of misconduct against him. He is remorseful and did not want to end his career in this way.”

Chief constable Jeremy Vaughan found the officer breached professional standards of honesty, integrity, duties and responsibilities.

He said PC Legg discredited the force and would have been dismissed had he not resigned five days before the hearing.

He added: “I am satisfied this was intentional, deliberate, targeted and planned and thus has a higher degree of culpability. The conduct was repeated after former PC Legg should have realised it was improper.

“Former PC Legg did this while on duty, abusing trust put in him by me and the wider public. Instead of keeping our roads safe he sought to pursue a course of conduct which took him away from those duties.

“This is unacceptable and the damage is done. I would have no hesitation to decide on dismissal as an outcome.”

He added there was “no room” for this type of conduct in South Wales Police and PC Legg will be placed on the police barred list.