A former police officer who had sex with vulnerable women and pursued inappropriate relationships after meeting them in the course of his duties has been jailed for three years.
Oliver Perry-Smith was described as a “sexual predator” who “abused his power” and “broke public trust” by pursuing female members of the public for sex while at Thames Valley police.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog began an investigation in November 2019 and found that Perry-Smith had a case to answer for gross misconduct.
The IOPC said the officer pursued six women between September 2014 and November 2019 whom he had met through his duties.
The 38-year-old, who joined Thames Valley police in 2009 and passed its exam to become a sergeant, had sexual contact with three and tried to establish sexual contact with the others, the watchdog said.
He looked up the details of one of those women, and a seventh woman, on the force’s computer systems for no policing purpose while based at Newbury police station, the IOPC added.
The watchdog ruled that the women had all been in vulnerable positions, either because they were subject to a police complaint requiring investigation or else were victims, witnesses or acting as appropriate adults for young victims of crime.
His actions were uncovered in 2019 when a woman called police after Perry-Smith, who had previously attended the home of her friend, then texted her an indecent image. The watchdog found that the officer had also looked up details for her and her family on the police computer system.
On another occasion he used a police computer to identify a woman using her car registration after parking next to her and watching her go into a shop, the IOPC said.
Perry-Smith, from Newbury, subsequently called at her home without a policing purpose and made personal comments about her appearance, despite knowing she was alone with a young child, the watchdog said.
The woman became suspicious and made a complaint to the IOPC.
The former PC pleaded guilty to three charges of misconduct in public office, and two charges of unauthorised access to computer material, contrary to the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
Perry-Smith, who resigned from Thames Valley police on 8 February this year, was sentenced at Reading crown court to three years and six months in prison.
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.
“His actions were often at the expense of his formal policing duties.”
Beesley said Perry-Smith’s actions had “seriously undermined the good work of the large majority of police officers who professionally serve the public on a daily basis”.
The IOPC said he would also be placed on the barred list, preventing future employment within the police service.
Senior crown prosecutor Charles White, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said Perry-Smith had taken “advantage of his privileged position and access to police resources to pursue several women over a few years”.
He said: “He knowingly breached police policy when he made personal visits while on duty. He seemed to think that by lying to his superiors and using his duties as an excuse, he’d be immune to the consequences of his actions.
“Today’s sentence proves no one is above the law, including those meant to uphold it. Perry-Smith abused his power, broke public trust, and made many women feel uncomfortable or unsafe in his inappropriate pursuit of them.”
Information and support for anyone affected by sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
