Derbyshire police officer convicted over sex act with 'vulnerable' woman in police car

A police officer has been found guilty of misconduct after he and a colleague engaged in sexual activity with a "vulnerable" woman in a patrol car.

Police Constable Matthew Longmate, 47, was on duty with former PC Daniel Nash in Chesterfield on 4 October 2015 when they came across a woman who had been drinking and had been ordered to leave a nightclub.

The Derbyshire Constabulary officers offered the woman a lift home. It was while in the police vehicle that the sexual activity with PC Longmate and his colleague took place.

Southwark Crown Court heard Nash, who has since died, had admitted 14 misconduct charges but said Longmate had been involved in one incident.

Longmate, who denied the charge, was found guilty following a four-day trial and will be sentenced in January.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) received a referral from Derbyshire Constabulary in November 2021, when the allegation against Longmate came to light during an investigation into Nash.

As part of the investigation, which began in November 2021, witness statements were taken, PC Longmate’s phone was seized and its contents were downloaded and examined.

The officer was also arrested and interviewed twice.

Steve Noonan, the IOPC's director of major investigations, said: “PC Longmate targeted a lone woman who was in a vulnerable position in a town centre late at night. She should have felt safe in this situation but instead he and his colleague abused their position as police officers in a way that is a complete betrayal of the public trust placed in them. “Police officers who abuse their power for sexual gain not only discredit their profession but breach the public’s trust and seriously undermines confidence in the police service. “I recognise how difficult it must have been for the woman in this case to come forward and I want to thank her for providing evidence to the investigation and helping to ensure that PC Longmate has been held accountable.”    Longmate will be sentenced on 15 January 2024. Derbyshire Constabulary has agreed that Longmate also has a case to answer for gross misconduct for potentially breaching police standards of professional behaviour.

It will now be for the force to take forward disciplinary proceedings.

In May 2022, at the end of the investigation, the IOPC decided the matter should be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charge of misconduct in public office.

The charge was joined with one faced by his colleague, Nash, who pleaded guilty to 14 counts of misconduct in public office in total.

In August 2023, due to exceptional circumstances, he received a two-year suspended sentence and died in September this year, the IOPC said.

The outcome of those proceedings could not be reported until the conclusion of Longmate’s trial.

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