A former police officer who said he felt “powerless” to resist having sex with a drunk and vulnerable woman while responding to her 999 call is facing jail after being found guilty of misconduct in a public office.
Jordan Masterson, 28, was a probationary officer with Cheshire Constabulary when he went to the home of a woman, named in court as female G, in the early hours in December 2021.
Chester Crown Court heard the woman, whose children were asleep in the house, had reported a disturbance and was “emotional” after drinking alcohol.
Giving evidence from behind a screen, she said the “atmosphere changed” when Masterson touched her hand.
She said: “How does this happen? How do you call the police and he ends up taking advantage of you when you’re drunk and vulnerable?”
The woman initially told police that she had been raped, but later said she had wanted sex.
Asked in court about why she said she had been raped, the woman replied: “That’s the word to describe how I felt. I felt completely violated.”
Masterson, who turned his bodyworn camera off about 15 minutes after arriving at her home, told the court it was the woman who had touched his hand and said she had left the room while he was on a radio call and returned completely naked.
The former officer, who resigned from the force in the summer of 2022, said “there was no thought process” during the sexual encounter and claimed the woman pulled him on top of her on to the sofa.
He said: “I remember just being confused, feeling completely numb like I was glued to the floor.”
Interviewed by police, Masterson, from Liverpool, made no comment to questions but gave a prepared statement in which he said the woman had “instigated” physical contact.
Female G had “been in control and he was powerless”, the court heard.
A vulnerable person’s assessment form, which Masterson completed afterwards, warned officers to “be wary of what this female may do in the future and I urge my colleagues to attend double-crewed”.
Speaking after the verdict, Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said: “He knew what he had done was wrong, and then attempted to cast doubt on the woman’s account.”
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Catherine Bates, regional director of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said: “Former PC Masterson’s disgraceful behaviour has absolutely no place in policing.”
An IOPC spokesman said he was found guilty of gross misconduct at a hearing held before the criminal case started.
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Masterson, who would have been dismissed from the force had he not already resigned, was placed on the barred list, meaning he cannot be employed in policing in the future.
He was told by Judge Michael Leeming that there was an “overwhelming likelihood” he would be jailed, as the case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report.
