A SERVING police officer based in Fermanagh has changed his plea ahead of trial on charges of misconduct in public office relating to a sexual relationship with a female he met in the course of duty.
Timothy Hampton, whose age is unknown and with an address given as Enniskillen PSNI Station, but currently suspended, originally denied all charges at Dungannon Crown Court and a trial was to take place later this month.
There are also two counts of misconduct in public office and a single count of unauthorised access to computer material but pleas have not been entered in these matters yet,
Offending occurred between 9 June and 5 September 2021 when Hampton willfully misconducted himself amounting to an abuse of public trust in him as a police officer, by engaging in a sexual relationship while on duty with a female member of the public he came into contact with during the course of his duties.
Between the same dates he also allegedly willfully misconducted himself by failing to notify police that he had knowledge the female made a false report of an incident to police, and he thereafter encouraged her to make a further false report to police without reasonable excuse or justification.
Finally, on 5 September 2021 Hampton is accused of causing a computer to perform a function with intent to secure access to a program or data contained therein, which was an unauthorised action and he knew this at the time of alleged offending.
Judge Brian Sherrard remanded Hampton on continuing bail of £500 to return to court later this month although it remains unclear when sentencing is to take place.
When previously asked to clarify Hampton’s current employment status ahead of the criminal proceedings, a PSNI spokesperson replied,
“This officer is suspended and the matter is being investigated by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.”
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