A POLICE OFFICER who sent a picture of his private parts while on duty in court has been sacked.

PC Christopher Lintern was dismissed following a misconduct hearing on Friday (March 17).

Lintern worked across Somerset as a police officer, and it was said that he betrayed the trust placed in him and exploited a vulnerable victim.

It was alleged that he breached the standards of professional behaviour by:

•establishing an improper sexual and emotional relationship with X, with whom he came into contact with in the course of his work and who was or may have been vulnerable to an abuse of trust or power; and •engaging in inappropriate behaviour when on duty The outcome of the hearing was that he was dismissed without notice.

The panel heard that Lintern first met the woman – identified as X – in 2015 when he was investigating her complaint of violence from her ex-partner.

Six weeks after the investigation was concluded, PC Lintern was said to have entered into a secret intimate sexual relationship with X, despite knowing she was vulnerable as a result of her ex-partner’s behaviour.

The panel heard the contact between the two became “friendly, moving towards flirtation and then became intimate”.

Lintern also admitted that in the spring/summer 2016 he sent a picture of his manhood to X while he was on duty at Bristol Crown Court where he was a witness in an attempted rape trial.

The former officer, who did not attend the hearing, said his relationship didn’t constitute an abuse of position and that it was rather a workplace affair as the pair worked for the same organisation, however the panel said it was an “unequal relationship”.

His “eloquent” display of contrition during interviews prior to the hearing were taken into account, according to the report.

X was said to be a “credible witnesses”, who emphasised to the panel that she was a willing and equal partner in the relationship, her eyes were wide open in respect of PC Lintern’s wife and family, and that she did not consider herself in the least vulnerable.

The panel concluded: “PC Lintern used his professional position to pursue and establish a sexual and improper and highly-damaging emotional relationship with someone who was, and remains, a victim.

“From the outset of his dealings with her case, PC Lintern had enough information to reach a proper assessment that she was a vulnerable victim, and he ought to have done so.

“His abuse of position for a sexual purpose amounts to serious corruption.”

Deputy chief constable Gareth Morgan said: "I welcome the decision of the independent misconduct panel to dismiss Christopher Lintern with immediate effect.

"He has betrayed the trust placed in him by the public and exploited a vulnerable victim of crime. There is no place for him in policing.

"I am grateful to the colleagues who reported this matter for their professionalism and integrity and to the investigators who brought this case to a hearing.

"In contrast to Christopher Lintern they truly represent the values and professionalism of the officers and staff who proudly serve the public in Avon and Somerset.”