PC denies manipulating woman to fake how they met

A police officer accused of encouraging a “vulnerable victim” to lie to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has denied “concocting a story” about how he met her.

Under cross-examination Paul Higgins, 42, told Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court he was not lying when he said he met Jessica O’Neill in 2014 or 2015.

Mr Higgins, who denies perverting the course of public justice, told the jury that he met her in the Brewery Quarter in Cardiff and they had dated briefly before “drifting apart”.

Prosecutors claimed he met her in 2019 as a direct result of responding to a report of domestic violence.

Ian Wright, prosecuting, reminded the jury that the IOPC had recovered 2,841 pages of Whatsapp messages between the defendant and Ms O’Neill.

He said there was no mention in those messages of Mr Higgins’s previous relationship with Ms O’Neill.

“There’s no mention of it, is there?” he asked, adding there was not “any hint of it” and that it was clear the first time the couple met was after he attended Ms O’Neill’s mother’s house.

“That’s incorrect,” said PC Higgins.

Mr Wright asked next about Whatsapp messages in which Mr Higgins wrote: ‘It’s only recent, remember? We met years ago and have kissed years ago.’

He said another message read: "Four years ago in Cardiff on a night out".

Mr Wright told Mr Higgins was “feeding her the lines.”

“Was it to ensure she stayed on track with the cover story you’d created?” he asked.

“It wasn’t a cover story,” replied Mr Higgins.

Ian Wright suggested that Paul Higgins had “manipulated” Ms O’Neill into lying to the IOPC by using “emotional pressure” about how and when they met.

“Absolutely not,” said Mr Higgins.

The court heard that Mr Higgins had received commendations for tackling an individual with a gun who had been threatening people, and for his work during the Covid pandemic.

Mr Higgins also told the court he had never faced disciplinary action since joining South Wales Police in 2014.

Previously Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke has directed the jury to find Mr Higgins not guilty of misusing his police powers to instigate a relationship with Ms O’Neill.

She also directed jurors to clear him of three counts of computer misuse because he was the officer in the case and there was no evidence his access was unauthorised.

Mr Higgins is still accused of perverting the course of public justice, which he denies.

The trial continues.