Yorkshire police officer charged with gross misconduct after hotel sex assault

PC Joe McCabe could be sacked, following a disciplinary hearing at the force’s headquarters in Northallerton on Friday, April 28.

It comes after he touched a woman without her consent, when they were sharing a room at the Travelodge hotel at Scotch Corner, in August 2021.

He stayed at the hotel after attending a wedding in Middleton Tyas with a number of colleagues.

The officer was convicted of one count of sexual assault at York Magistrates Court in February and received a six-month prison sentence, which was suspended for a period of 24 months.

He was also hit with a three-year restraining order, and ordered to attend a rehabilitation course and abstain from drinking alcohol for a set period.

Last month, the force announced PC James Mills and DC Danielle Kirby had been sacked for gross misconduct, following a four-day disciplinary hearing.

The force said PC Mills demonstrated an “appallingly racist attitude” when he sent offensive messages and images to his colleague between December 2018 and March 2019, while he was off duty.

DC Kirby agreed with a number of his remarks and “added her own racist comments”, the force added.

In one message, PC Mills said: “At the risk of sounding a bit racist, don’t you think Africa is wasted on black *****.”

The detective replied: “That’s a bit random but yes it is.”

The force said the officers, who had previously unblemished records, had damaged their own reputations but also undermined public confidence in the police.

According to the force's ruling, both officers “recognised wrongdoing” and accepted the messages were racist, but there was “no insight, apology, or any demonstration of contrition”.

Lawyers representing the officers had claimed that they should not have faced a disciplinary hearing because the messages were obtained unlawfully.