Thames Valley Police knew officer had ‘asked girl to send naked pictures’ before sex offence

A police force was told a serving officer had "repeatedly" asked a 15-year-old girl to send naked pictures of herself before he went on to commit a child sex offence, a critical inspection has found.

Thames Valley Police failed to take stricter action against former PC Luke Horner on at least five occasions prior to the 24-year-old engaging in and recording on a mobile phone penetrative sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl in Northamptonshire.

In a commissioned inspection of Thames Valley Police (TVP), His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that following a number of incidents, the force should have recognised Horner "clearly" was not suitable to be a police officer.

It detailed that Horner had a potential sexual assault allegation in 2016 which TVP did not investigate sufficiently, left cannabis in his work tray which was being inspected as evidence, and pointed a Taser at a colleague.

However, the report concluded that TVP could not have reasonably anticipated Horner would commit the sex offences against a child.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley said vetting was "vital" and he expected the force to be "acting on the learning points identified" in the report.

Horner resigned as an officer on 26 July after being arrested for travelling on 11 June to Rushden, Northamptonshire, while off duty to meet a 13-year-old girl who he would go on to seriously sexually assault.

Horner also recorded video footage of the sexual activity on the victim's phone.

He pleaded guilty to the offence and was sentenced to six years and four months in prison earlier in October.

HMICFRS was commissioned by the police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley to consider if there had been any lost opportunities in how the force dealt with intelligence and information relating to Horner during his service.

But the inspectorate found that the force missed at least five opportunities to take stricter action against him both at the initial vetting stage and during his police service, which could have led to him being refused initial vetting clearance or dismissed.

At the initial vetting stage, the force should have made further inquiries into two separate issues – a potential sexual assault allegation in 2016 and his early departure from the British Army, HMICFRS found.

And during his police service, the force failed to identify that there were questions about his honesty and integrity after several incidents – and when considered together, these incidents “clearly indicated that Horner was not suited to being a police officer”.

During Horner’s police service, the force’s counter-corruption unit received anonymous intelligence from Crimestoppers which suggested that Horner had been chatting online to a 15-year-old girl and had “repeatedly” asked her to send him naked pictures of herself.

The counter-corruption unit made one attempt to contact the person who gave the information to Crimestoppers, but the inspectorate said the unit should have made “repeated and exhaustive attempts” to contact the person within the 14-day period the communication channel remained open.

At the time of an incident involving Horner pointing his Taser at a colleague and activating the red dot laser, he was still the subject of a live written warning for the mishandling of evidence, so the inspectorate believes that the professional standards department should have “without hesitation” assessed the behaviour as gross misconduct, which could have led to a gross misconduct hearing, with a potential outcome of dismissal.

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said: “Having robust vetting processes is vital for forces in being able to identify any misconduct, dismiss officers and staff if they are not fit for the job and prevent unsuitable officers joining in the first place.

“While we found that Thames Valley Police could not have reasonably anticipated PC Horner would commit such an abhorrent crime, we found at least five lost opportunities where the force could have taken stricter action against him.

“It is very clear, particularly when considered alongside other incidents which took place during his police service, PC Horner was not suited to being a police officer.

“We have identified several areas of learning which we encourage the force to address.

“We will revisit the force as part of our rolling programme of inspections in 2024 and will look at their vetting, professional standards and counter-corruption arrangements in more detail.”

Matthew Barber, police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley, said: "My thoughts remain with the victim and her family as they continue to deal with the impact of this abhorrent crime. 

"I am pleased that Luke Horner is now serving a prison sentence following a successful investigation by Northamptonshire Police.

"As police and crime commissioner, I need to be satisfied that Thames Valley Police has appropriate processes in place in the vetting and performance management of its officers and staff to effectively root out corruption and misconduct. 

"I thank HMICFRS for conducting this inspection and in delivering practical recommendations for improvement, which add real value in helping me hold the force to account."

He added that it was now "clear" that a range of incidents indicated "concerns" about Horner's suitability as a police officer.

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