Sergeant had 'naughty' sex at station, panel says

A married police sergeant had sexual activity at a police station with a junior colleague, a misconduct panel has concluded.

Mark Pattison, formerly of Hertfordshire Police and Thames Valley Police, had an affair with a detention officer who was part of his team at Hatfield Police Station.

Their trysts took place between December 2021 and February 2022, allegedly in cars and at their homes, as well as one occasion at work.

Pattison - who denied the sexual activity at the station and in cars - was put on the barred list.

Thames Valley Police panel told him he would have been sacked if he had not already resigned.

"You have abused your position, brought discredit upon the police service, and your conduct amounts to gross misconduct," it said.

Pattison was made supervisor for Ms A after she joined Hertfordshire Police in April 2021.

The affair started six months later, shortly after her probation period had ended, making her "significantly junior" in service compared with Pattison.

This, the panel ruled, created a "clear and obvious power imbalance" and was evidence that Pattison had "abused his position".

On one occasion, the pair were said to have had sexual activity on the top of a stairwell during the early hours of the morning while on a night shift.

According to Ms A, they "both enjoyed it because it was naughty".

The affair ended amicably, according to Pattison, who told his supervisor about it after being confronted by his wife.

When Ms A was spoken to about the relationship she initially did not mention the two had had sexual activity at the police station but admitted it in a later interview.

A separate misconduct hearing concluded she would have been sacked if she had not already resigned.

Pattison accepted the affair happened but "categorically denied" the sexual activity at the station.

He said their 12-minute absence from the custody suite would have been noticed and the allegation rested on her version of events versus his.

The panel ruled that Pattison's "desire to obtain sexual gratification" led him to engage in sexual activity while on duty.

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