Former Police Officer Imprisoned for Misconduct Involving Vulnerable Women

A former police constable has received a prison sentence after engaging in sexual activity with a vulnerable victim of domestic abuse whose case he was assigned to investigate. Declan Middleton had recently completed his training and joined West Yorkshire Police when he first encountered the first woman during the initial Covid lockdown. Two months subsequently, he transmitted explicit WhatsApp messages to a second woman who had contacted the police regarding malicious online messages from an unidentified source. Middleton, 33, residing at Lark Field Terrace in Keighley, was convicted last month of two counts of misconduct in public office following a trial. The judge informed him that his actions constituted a “grotesque and gross breach of trust.” Leeds Crown Court heard that Middleton was dispatched to the first woman’s residence in May 2020 to record a statement concerning an alleged assault she had experienced. The court was informed that, at the time, the woman displayed facial bruising and her children had recently been placed into care. During their meeting, Middleton reportedly requested to be directed to the toilet, and as he followed her up the stairs, he grabbed her bottom from behind. Subsequently, he provided her with his personal phone number, leading to an exchange of flirtatious and explicit messages between them over the subsequent days. Approximately one week after their initial encounter, Middleton returned to the property and engaged in consensual sexual intercourse with her, according to the prosecution. During his trial, Middleton denied having sex with the woman and asserted that she had fabricated her account. In her victim impact statement, the woman expressed feeling as though she had been treated like “an unpaid prostitute.” Middleton’s first visit to the second woman occurred in July 2020, when he was assigned to investigate her allegations of receiving “nuisance” anonymous messages online. This woman, who had also previously experienced domestic abuse, was given Middleton’s number. Within a two-week period, they exchanged over 200 WhatsApp messages, predominantly flirtatious in nature. The court was informed that their communication ended when it became apparent that Middleton was not seeking a long-term relationship with her. The second woman stated in her victim impact statement that the interaction had “damaged her trust in the police.” Middleton resigned from the police force after the allegations against him advanced to a tribunal. He had already been prohibited from serving as a police officer prior to the conclusion of the criminal proceedings against him. Nicholas Worsley, representing Middleton, stated that Middleton’s family would face financial difficulties during his incarceration and that he was assessed as being at “low risk” of reoffending. Judge Simon Batiste sentenced him to two years in prison, remarking: “You saw these women as an opportunity to engage in what you saw as easy sex. “With an attitude of this sort, you are wholly unsuitable to be a police officer.”Offences of this type damage trust in the police as a whole.””