A WARWICKSHIRE Police detective who pursued an inappropriate relationship with the mother of a child victim will never work in policing again.
DC John Littlewood was found guilty of gross misconduct at a hearing conducted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct on Friday April 17.
The hearing concluded that DC Littlewood would have been dismissed with immediate effect had he not already left the force. He will now be placed on the barred list which means he won’t be able to work in policing again.
The 52-year-old, who worked in the force’s child abuse, trafficking and exploitation team, had admitted one count of improper exercise of police powers and privileges by a constable, at court hearing in January.
He was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 15 months, and ordered to carry out 100 hours of work in the community.
The IOPC investigation revealed how DC Littlewood exchanged hundreds of messages, many of a sexualised nature, with a woman he met through one of his cases.
The investigation began in December 2023 following a referral from Warwickshire Police and ended in December 2024 when a file of evidence was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service which authorised the charges.
Littlewood met Female X in October 2021 when he was assigned to investigate a report of a sexual assault against the woman’s daughter.
Between May and September 2023 investigators found he exchanged more than 300 messages with the woman, including many of an inappropriate nature.
One message from Littlewood read: “if you are careless with my messages and don’t delete them you could really drop me in it at work”.
The investigation also involved CCTV enquiries and cell site mapping of his phone which revealed he met the woman at a Coventry hotel in the early hours of October 1 2023 for around 50 minutes.
Littlewood also paid frequent visits to Female X’s home which aroused the suspicions of a support worker who raised concerns with Warwickshire Police’s Professional Standards Department.
OPC director Derrick Campbell: “Female X was in a vulnerable position when she was manipulated by DC Littlewood. He met her while on duty and used that contact to start up a friendship which led to inappropriate contact including sexualised messages.
“The officer knew his behaviour was improper as he told her to delete messages, some of which were sent while on duty, as they would get him into trouble at work.
“Police professional standards are clear that officers should never use their position to establish or pursue improper relationships with any victims, witness, offenders or other vulnerable person and never enter into inappropriate communication.”
