BERKSHIRE POLICE OFFICER FOUND GUILTY OF INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING
A police officer named PC Ben Lane, who was serving in Berkshire, was found to have inappropriately touched a colleague in a manner described as "deliberate, unwarranted and unnecessary." The incident took place in September 2024 during working hours.Lane claimed that he was attempting to demonstrate an alleged sexual assault related to an investigation, and he touched his colleague on the back of the leg over their clothing.
The panel, chaired by Thames Valley Police's assistant chief constable Dennis Murray, rejected Lane's explanation, describing his account as "highly implausible." The victim, Officer A, provided a detailed account of the incident, expressing shock and surprise at what happened.
The panel determined that the act was very likely to be considered a sexual assault and classified it as gross misconduct.
Lane, who has resigned from Thames Valley Police since the incident, stated he applied only about 10% of his maximum pressure during the act.
The injured officer assessed the pain as a four or five out of ten.
The panel concluded that Lane's behavior constituted gross misconduct and noted he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned.
Consequently, he will be listed on the College of Policing's barred list and is categorized as a sexual offender with a category ID of 10.
