EX-POLICE OFFICER IN LEEDS JAILED AFTER ADMITTING SEXUAL ASSAULT AND MISCONDUCT
A former police officer has been unmasked as a predator after a court heard how he abused his position to target vulnerable women.Patrick Banks, 42, once a Detective Constable in Leeds, stood before Sheffield Crown Court where his double life came crashing down.
He admitted two counts of misconduct in a public office and one count of sexual assault.
OFF DUTY… AND OUT OF CONTROL Jurors heard Banks blurred the lines between badge and personal life, preying on two women during 2024 and 2025.
What began as “friendly” contact quickly turned sinister.
One woman raised the alarm in April 2025 after Banks allegedly bombarded her with disturbing messages, repeatedly turned up at her home uninvited, and subjected her to unwanted sexual touching.
In a chilling moment revealed in court, Banks even asked her to translate a message reading: “I want to take your underwear off with my teeth.” Police swooped the very same day — arresting Banks and placing him on bail while suspending him from duty.
SECOND VICTIM SPEAKS OUT But the case didn’t stop there.
A second woman came forward, telling how Banks persistently messaged her and turned up at her address multiple times — with only one visit officially logged as police business.
The rest?
Unauthorised.
Unprofessional.
And deeply alarming.
BADGE SHAME ENDS IN COURTROOM FALL Banks had already quit West Yorkshire Police before facing an internal disciplinary panel.
Officials later confirmed he would have been sacked on the spot had he still been serving.
Now, the disgraced ex-officer faces strict consequences — slapped with a seven-year restraining order and placed on the sex offenders register for life.
POLICE BLAST ‘ABHORRENT’ BEHAVIOUR Senior officer Detective Chief Superintendent Tanya Wilkins did not hold back, condemning Banks’ actions in the strongest terms and making clear there is no place in policing for those who abuse their power.
A trusted figure.
A sworn protector.
Unmasked as something far darker.
—————————————————————————————————— A former West Yorkshire police officer is facing jail after he admitted inappropriately trying to befriend two women and sexually assaulting one of them.
Patrick Banks, 42, had inappropriate message exchanges with the women and asked one of them to translate a message saying, "I want to take your underwear off with my teeth", a court heard.
The offences happened both on and off duty when he was working as a detective constable in Leeds, West Yorkshire Police have said.
Banks appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in a public office and one count of sexual assault, involving touching one of the women.
He denied one charge of stealing a mobile phone.
Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, the Recorder of Sheffield, said that charge would lie on file.
The court heard that Banks "wilfully engaged in inappropriate messaging" over five months in 2024 and 2025 with the first woman, and met up with her.
He is also accused of lying about being a rabbi to gain her trust, but the court heard he denies this.
A judge heard he engaged in inappropriate messages outside professional communication with the second woman over a month last year, bought gifts for her child and attended her address as a police officer.
He invited her to translate messages from French to English which said, "I want to take your underwear off with my teeth", the court was told.
The judge heard that Banks tried to befriend both women and attended their homes, in one case it was while he was off duty and in the other case, three out of four times were off duty.
Banks will be sentenced on April 1 and was bailed until then.
Judge Richardson said: "It is always a very serious matter for a police officer to misconduct himself.
"The sentence in such cases, I'm sure you appreciate, is invariably an immediate custodial sentence which always falls hard on an individual who has, at least in part, been responsible for upholding the law.
"The only issue really to be decided is how long that sentence needs to be."
