POLICE OFFICER RESIGNS AFTER GROOMING VULNERABLE TEEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA
A police officer who requested to meet a vulnerable teenage girl after initially contacting her on social media has been found guilty of gross misconduct.Northamptonshire Police announced that they would have dismissed Mitchell Shorley immediately if he had not resigned two weeks prior to his disciplinary hearing.
During a misconduct hearing held on Wednesday, it was revealed that Mr Shorley, who joined the force in March 2022, began messaging the 16-year-old girl via TikTok on June 12, 2024.
Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet expressed his outrage, stating that he was "appalled" by the "abhorrent behavior" and emphasized that this was a serious case of a police officer exploiting his role to attempt to groom a vulnerable young woman.
The girl, known as person A, was a looked-after child in the care of the local authority and had posted videos about mental health and welfare on her TikTok account.
She was willing to communicate with Mr Shorley but later felt he had groomed her.
The misconduct hearing heard that Mr Shorley sent her messages, including introducing himself as a police officer, and often initiated contact after breaks in communication, claiming to check if she was okay.
On July 6, 2024, he suggested moving their conversation to Snapchat, which does not keep message histories, and sent photos of himself while on duty.
She reported feeling overwhelmed by the messages, which grew more suggestive and flirtatious, especially after moving to Snapchat.
On August 13, Mr Shorley allegedly told her, "You'd look good with a police officer boyfriend," and admitted having a crush on her, proposing an in-person meeting, which made her uncomfortable.
This led to her informing a staff member at her home, who reported the case to police.
Mr Shorley did not attend the disciplinary hearing.
Chief Constable Balhatchet added that the evidence demonstrated that the officer's conduct was cynical, manipulative, and an abuse of his position for inappropriate sexual purposes.
He reinforced that there is no room in policing for individuals who exploit their authority to groom or harm vulnerable persons.
As a result, Mr Shorley’s resignation was seen as equivalent to being dismissed, and a decision was made that he would have been dismissed had he not resigned.
