Derbyshire police officer guilty over sex act in patrol car

A police officer who had sexual contact with a drunk woman in a patrol car has been found guilty of misconduct.

PC Matthew Longmate, 47, was on duty with PC Daniel Nash in Derbyshire on 4 October 2015 when they offered the woman a lift home.

Southwark Crown Court heard Nash, who has since died, had admitted a series of misconduct charges but said Longmate had been involved in one incident.

Longmate, who denied the charge, will be sentenced in January.

The jury heard how Nash said he and Longmate had been called to an incident at The Association bar in Chesterfield and then decided to take the woman home.

Shortly after Nash said they parked and he had sex with the woman while she performed a sex act on Longmate.

After the initial incident Nash had persistently tried to meet up with the woman, who only had partial recall of the encounter.

However she only reported the case in 2020 when she became worried he might be influencing a separate case she was involved in.

In October 2022 Daniel Nash admitted 13 charges of misconduct in a public office relating to sexual conduct with a number of women over several years.

He died of cancer in September this year.

Longmate, who had more than 20 years of policing experience, was on duty in the same car as Nash on the night in question.

But his defence had said at least 19 other officers were on duty that night and the investigation had not worked hard enough to eliminate other potential suspects or challenge Nash's account.

Judge Christopher Hehir said he wanted to consult pre-sentencing reports and adjourned sentencing until 15 January.

Longmate, who has been suspended from duty since November 2021, was granted bail.

Steve Noonan, director of major investigations at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said: "PC Longmate targeted a lone woman who was in a vulnerable position in a town centre late at night.

"She should have felt safe in this situation but instead he and his colleague abused their position as police officers in a way that is a complete betrayal of the public trust placed in them.

"Police officers who abuse their power for sexual gain not only discredit their profession but breach the public's trust and seriously undermines confidence in the police service."

Derbyshire Constabulary's deputy chief constable Simon Blatchly said he was "deeply shocked and angered" by Longmate's actions.

"As a serving police officer he took an oath to uphold the laws of this country - and protect our communities from harm," he said.

"In particular, officers and staff have a particular duty to protect those who are most vulnerable.

"Longmate not only failed to protect but actively sought to use abuse his position while on patrol."

He also confirmed an accelerated hearing would take place to remove Longmate from the force.

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