Police officer sacked after contacting sex workers

A Leicestershire Police constable has been sacked for contacting sex workers in order to live out a "fantasy".

Officer A, who cannot be identified due to anonymity restrictions, contacted nine phone numbers associated with sex workers listed online, a misconduct hearing was told on Wednesday.

He admitted he sent messages between November 2025 and April, but his representative Ryan Coleman argued they did not constitute gross misconduct.

But Chief Constable David Sandall ruled Officer A should be dismissed without notice due to the repeated nature of the texts being "exploitative" and the potential for his behaviour to undermine public confidence.

Sandall added the "deteriorating mental and physical health" of Officer A, who had been placed on administrative duties while being investigated, was not a strong mitigation for his actions.

The hearing, at the force headquarters in Enderby, was told the nine numbers were first contacted in the space of seven days from the officer's personal phone, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In one instance, Officer A requested to meet a sex worker in the messages that were found on his phone saying he "wanted to see the real thing".

Addressing his actions, Officer A said the conversations were "pathetic".

He added: "I'm not a bad person, I'm not a bad egg. If I had known the guidance, I would have never done so."

There was no evidence that he actually met up with the sex workers, with one text labelling the officer a "time-waster".

Coleman said Officer A had voluntarily handed over his phone and PIN to the investigation and offered to provide bank statements.

Liz Briggs, a solicitor for Leicestershire Police, said sex workers were potentially vulnerable and there were "risks of harm" in contacting them as an officer.

Sandall said that the amount of sexual messages sent showed a "pattern of behaviour" due to the length of time it had happened, and that it was seen as a "fantasy" by the officer.

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