Former British inspector jailed 10 years for abusing men during searches

ISLAMABAD: Former British police inspector Gerard Hutchings was jailed for 10 years on Friday after prosecution established a consistent pattern of unlawful strip searches on 18 victims over an eight-year period.

According to a statement issued by the Crown Prosecution Service, principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales, Hutchings, 67, of Ashurst, carried out offenses spanning almost a decade. 

The agency said that Hutchings abused his position of authority and exploited his status as a senior police officer to target young men who were under his care and control.

He was convicted of five counts of indecent assault, five counts of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one count of misconduct in public office, it said, adding that Hutchings had previously admitted to 17 counts of misconduct in public office. 

The agency said that Hutchings’ victims, who were targeted between 1999 and 2007, were aged between 17 and 31 at the time. 

“Evidence from 18 victims helped establish a consistent pattern of offending spanning almost a decade, exposing Hutchings' systematic abuse of his position as a senior police officer,” the agency said, proving that the former inspector “abused the authority of his role to obtain compliance from those in his custody.”

“The victims did not freely consent to his actions but were confronted by a senior police officer exercising unlawful power over them,” it said. 

CPS’Anthony Johns said that Hutching “carried out a sustained abuse of power” and used his position to target “young men.”

“He exploited his authority to subject victims to humiliating and unjustified strip searches before sexually offending against them,” Jones was quoted as saying.

After the hearing today, Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Southey said, “Hutchings exploited the trust placed in him to commit appalling offenses against these young men.” 

“His actions have had a profound and lasting impact on them,” he said.