A trainee police constable who rubbed his groin against a colleague during a self-defence class has been sacked.

Christopher Mallam was six weeks into his training with Cleveland Police when three female officers reported his “sexist, sexual and misogynistic comments,” a misconduct hearing was told.

The probationary officer faced 16 allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards female students.

Read more: Truman Hub of North Shields died in car crash on A191 at New York

An independent panel sitting in Stockton on Tees found 14 of the allegations had been proved, including the most serious, that he pressed his groin against a female student during a training exercise.

On Friday they ruled that Mallam should be dismissed without notice after previously finding him guilty of gross misconduct.

Nick Hawkins, who chaired the panel, said: “Female officers have the right to work in an environment that is not misogynistic.”

Mr Hawkins also lifted an order granting Mallam anonymity and ruled that his name could be reported.

Inviting the panel to dismiss Mallam, Stephen Morley, representing the prosecuting authority, said the “poor behaviour towards women uncovered in other forces is a matter of national concern at the moment, sadly”.

The panel heard one of the allegations “could be described as a sexual assault” and happened during an exercise in which a female trainee had to bend over and protect her head while colleagues hit her with foam pads.

The young PC, known as Witness A, sobbed as she told the hearing she “wanted it to stop” when she felt Mallam push his groin against her bottom, but the other officers thought her protests were part of the role playing and continued with the exercise.

“Because of the scenario I was in, you’re supposed to be quite vocal and shout back with people,” Witness A said.

“I remember feeling that I just wanted it to stop but they just thought because I was shouting ‘stop’, they thought I was just engaging in the task and they wouldn’t stop.”

The panel also found Mallam “sexualised” conversations about primary school teachers and microwave meals, asking one female colleague if she had a “sexy nurse outfit” at home, and another if she was “going to use her handcuffs on her fella when she got home”.

The panel said they believed allegations by one female officer, Witness B, that Mallam had talked about her going home to use a vibrator and said he “liked to be woken up by a blow job”.

They found an allegation by a third, Witness C, that he commented about her “having sticky fingers,” was also proved.

Mallam denied all the allegations and said the three women had “launched a campaign of falsehoods against him”.

He denied some of the incidents altogether, and said some of his comments have been “misconstrued” and were meant to be “jokey”, the hearing was told.

Guy Ladenberg, representing Mallam, questioned whether his behaviour was merely “a misguided attempt to attain humour”.

“Was it an awkward and gauche attempt by PC Mallam to fit in with his peers?” Mr Ladenberg said.

Read next:

 

 

If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here