PC Adam Rushton denies on-duty sex charges

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-32084539

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A police officer has told a jury he had sex with different women but never at the expense of either his work or his colleagues.

Adam Rushton, 37, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, denies 10 counts of misconduct in a public office and two offences under data protection laws.

The Staffordshire police constable is alleged to have committed the offences between June 2006 and October 2012.

He met all of the women through his job as a beat officer, the court heard.

PC Rushton told Birmingham Crown Court it was "not very professional" to go to one woman's home for oral sex, while separately sleeping with two others.

'Morally terrible'

He denied sleeping with another woman with whom he exchanged "flirty" text messages, after her initial call about a neighbour dispute.

He also told the jury there was no truth he tricked another woman into showing him a naked picture of herself to avoid being arrested.

The constable, who was based at Longton police station in Stoke-on-Trent, accepted he had slept with one woman after his shift had finished, an act he described as "morally terrible", because he was seeing his future wife at the time.

Defence barrister Kevin Baumber asked: "In terms of any on-duty contact with any of these people, was there ever a time you left in the middle of something to go and see them?"

The constable replied: "No, it was the opposite, I never did - I never let any of my team down."

Earlier, the jury heard PC Rushton had an impressive professional record as a neighbourhood policing officer, with many letters of praise from senior officers.

'Vulnerable and frightened'

Jurors also heard how the officer had twice been injured in the line of duty, once when a car was reversed into him, and once when he tackled an escaped prisoner and was left out of action for nine months.

Opening the trial earlier this week, prosecutor Duncan Bould said the allegations all related to the officer's sex life.

The prosecution told the court PC Rushton's work brought him regularly into contact with "vulnerable and frightened females".

"We say he sought to take advantage of those situations to have sexual activity of some kind with them," Mr Bould said.

The jury heard none of the women had made any complaints to the police about PC Rushton.

When he was first interviewed in April 2013 the officer had denied sleeping with all but one of the women, the court was told.

The trial continues.