A FORMER Thames Valley Police officer has been jailed for pursuing vulnerable women for sex, after meeting them during the course of his duties.
Ex-Police Constable Oliver Perry-Smith, who was based at Newbury Police Station, was jailed for three and a half years.
He appeared at Reading Crown Court on Friday, after previously pleading guilty to three charges of misconduct in public office, and two charges of unauthorised access to computer material.
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The court heard that between September 2014 and November 2019, the former officer pursued six women he met through his duties.
He had sexual contact with three and sought to establish sexual contact with the others.
He also looked up the details of one of those women and a seventh woman on police computer systems, for no policing purpose.
The women were in vulnerable positions at the time either because they were subject to a police complaint requiring investigation or were victims, witnesses or acting as appropriate adults for young victims of crime.
Perry-Smith’s actions came to light in November 2019 when a woman called police about an incident involving her friend.
The woman mentioned that Perry-Smith had previously attended the home of her friend and had since sent her an indecent image by text.
Enquiries by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found that he had also looked up details for her and her family on the police computer system.
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On another occasion, Perry-Smith used a police computer to identify a woman via her car registration after parking next to her and watching her go into a shop.
That evening, he called at her home without a policing purpose and made personal comments about her appearance.
The woman noticed his radio was off and he was not wearing shoulder badges. This caused her to fear for her safety and question whether he was actually a police officer. She subsequently made a complaint to the IOPC.
IOPC regional director Graham Beesley said: “Perry-Smith was a sexual predator and his conduct caused significant distress to the women involved.
“He was prolific in the abuse of his position over a five-year period and his acts were intentional, deliberate, targeted and planned.”
In addition to the matters heard at court, the IOPC found further evidence of him pursuing an additional seven women for sex after meeting them during the course of his duties.
Phone analysis showed he sent hundreds of text messages to women while on duty, some of a sexual nature and asking for them to send him intimate images of themselves.
He propositioned women for sex in their homes while their children were there, often turning up unannounced during the evening.
He resigned from the force on February 8, and faced an accelerated misconduct hearing the following day.
Perry-Smith will be placed on the barred list preventing future employment within the police service.
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