To the outside world, Adnan 'Adz' Ali was a respected police officer who had overcome his own demons to become a mentor to young wannabe cops.
He was trusted by parents and the teenagers who enrolled on the police cadet scheme he led from Stretford police station for Greater Manchester Police.
But public perception masked a terrible truth - the officer who had Superman emblazoned on his leader’s hoodie and underpants was using the Trafford Volunteer Cadet Scheme as his own 'grooming playground', touching his charges inappropriately, sometimes kissing them and on two occasions sending them a picture of his penis.
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Today (Monday) Ali, 36, from Old Trafford, was finally exposed as a predator after a jury convicted him of a series of sex assaults as well as misconduct in public office.
The verdicts also prompted an apology from GMP which admitted it could have done more to stop Ali, yet another police officer who used his position to satisfy their sexual desires. The police watchdog concluded there had been 'serious failings' in the way the cadet scheme was supervised by senior bosses.
A jury at Liverpool Crown Court took just under four hours to unanimously convict Ali of 15 offences of misconduct and five offences of sexual assault.
Sacked by GMP last year and banned from returning to policing, his reputation is now in tatters and he was warned that he could be jailed when he returns to court to be sentenced.
Ali, of Leighton Road, Old Trafford, showed no response when the jury of eight women and four men returned their verdicts nor when addressed by the judge. His parents, who regularly attended each day of the four week trial, were again in the public gallery.
Ali began running the cadet scheme from the summer of 2013 having returned to work after suffering a serious knife injury earlier that year while on duty which led to him suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
The officer was happy to talk publicly about the attack but for his victims this will have been a part of a cynical attempt to build a reputation as a man of empathy who could be trusted.
Ali was interviewed by the M.E.N. in 2017 about the attack. He was called to a house in Old Trafford where a man produced a knife and began hacking at his head. He said he suffered night terrors and flashbacks. He locked himself in a police cell for 24 hours to raise more than £1,000 for the charity Moodswings.
But the appearance of public spirit hid something sinister.
During the trial Anne White, prosecuting, said that the training scheme was not properly run and he had crossed obvious boundaries with the young cadets.
“It was as if Adnan Ali had decided to throw the rule book out,” she told the jury.
Ali often made late night inappropriate phone calls to some of the victims and sent some photographs of him in the bath or on the toilet.
He formed a relationship with another cadet who gave birth to his son but his lawyer told the jury that he is bi-sexual. Ali was convicted of sexually assaulting two teenage girls and a 17-year-old boy and misconduct in public office involving sexualised conversations with six other teenage boys and asking for and sending indecent images to some of them.
His behaviour also included him trying to kiss a 17-year-old cadet and massaging his shoulders, offering to take another 17-year-old boy to a brothel and fondling two teenage girls.
The trial heard he sent hundreds of messages to one teenaged boy, who thought the PC was 'a bit of a creep' and responsible for 'constant weirdness'.
Ali had a habit of signing off these messages with kisses, said the cadet.
The boy began following Ali on Twitter aged 15 at the officer's suggestion, and the quantity of messages became excessive - sometimes running into hundreds a day.
On one day alone there were 336 exchanges between. The young man told jurors that after the first time he responded in a similar fashion, but then felt 'it was a bit awkward if I didn’t put them back'.
Ali told him he was likely to get an apprenticeship and he would be his line manager. During a break in the interviewing process the boy and other cadets went to a local McDonalds - Ali was also there and suggested the boy follow him on Twitter, which he did.
He also suggested he could go to the gym with him after work, an offer the boy turned down. He said that Ali asked him about his love life and what 'his type' was.
He said Ali would ring him late at night and mention having a bath. He sent the youngster photographs of his bath water and his bath and even texted: "I need someone to scrub my back xxxxxx."
Judge Denis Watson, KC, released Ali on bail until his sentencing hearing on June 23, saying: "Please don’t mis-understand the granting of bail and ordering a pre-sentence report is not a promise or indication that I have in mind some form of probation based sentence.
"On the contrary these are serious offences and it is inevitable it seems to me that a custodial sentence and an immediate one will follow.”
The judge made an interim order for Ali to sign on the Sex Offenders Register.
After the hearing, Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane, for GMP, said: "No person should come into contact with the police - adults or young persons - and be subject to any criminal offences or misconduct. Clearly on this occasion, that did happen. Ali is responsible for the offences that he committed but we do recognise that more could have been done to supervise and monitor him."
The senior cop said new safeguarding measures had now been introduced, including a 'safeguarding lead' who now had oversight of the cadet scheme.
"As a consequence, the scheme is in a far better place now that it was in 2018. We do recognise that more could have been done to supervise him at the time," said the ACC.
He went on: "Lots of learning has taken place both locally and nationally. The fact that we could have done more is something for which we are truly sorry."
The investigation of Ali was carried out by GMP but 'managed' by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Its regional director Catherine Bates said: "Ali’s disgraceful behaviour has had a significant impact on his victims and has absolutely no place in policing. He abused his position to exploit the young people who should have been safe in his care, and his complete refusal to take responsibility for his actions forced them to endure a lengthy and emotionally draining trial.
"His actions completely betray the trust placed in him by cadets and their families, as well as his colleagues who will be just as appalled by what he did. It is thanks to the bravery of all those who came forward that Ali’s offending has come to light and he has now been convicted.
"It is vital that those who experience or witness inappropriate behaviour by the police feel confident to report it and this case should send a clear message that those concerns will be taken seriously by us, by forces and by the courts.
"The investigation also highlighted serious failings in the way cadet schemes were being managed by GMP and we welcome a range of steps taken by the force since these offences were discovered to improve supervision of the officers entrusted with this level of responsibility."
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