Officer sacked for messages to vulnerable woman

A police officer has been dismissed and handed a suspended prison sentence after attempting to initiate a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman involved in a case he was investigating.

PC Jody Lathwell, formerly of Northamptonshire Police, was leading an investigation into serious offences when he tried to contact the woman via LinkedIn in November 2023, a misconduct panel heard.

The woman had made it clear she was vulnerable following an alleged abusive relationship.

The hearing report stated: "The suspect believed that the former officer's motive in carrying out the investigation was the inappropriate interest in the complainant."

The 44-year-old, from Bletchley in Milton Keynes, was suspended from duty while the force's Counter Corruption Unit carried out an investigation.

He was later charged with two counts of misconduct in a public office and pleaded guilty to one of the charges at Northampton Crown Court on 17 April.

The other charge was ordered to remain on the file.

On 28 May, he was sentenced at the same court to 32 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months

He was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and complete 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.

During the investigation, Lathwell said he was "in a bad place" at the time.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the court was told in mitigation that Lathwell had been a police officer for just over a year.

However, the misconduct panel concluded that this offered "little insight into the mindset of seeking out sexual interactions with a person who had reported a serious sexual offence to him".

The hearing found that, although Lathwell did not contact the woman directly, he exchanged sexually explicit messages with a LinkedIn account he believed belonged to her.

That account was later found to be controlled by the suspect in the same investigation.

He did not attend the gross misconduct hearing at Northamptonshire Police force headquarters but admitted the allegations through a representative.

Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet ruled that dismissal without notice was the "only appropriate outcome that would provide reassurance to the public".

Deputy Chief Constable Ash Tuckley added that the officer's actions "fell well below the high standards" expected.

Lathwell has also been added to the police barred list.

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