Police chief assaulted wife in bid to stop her reading WhatsApp messages revealing affair with junior colleague, misconduct panel finds
A senior police officer cleared in court of assaulting his wife as he tried to stop her reading sexual WhatsApp messages he sent to a junior colleague has been found guilty of committing gross misconduct by a disciplinary panel. Chief Superintendent
Karl Wilson was accused of rugby tackling his wife and damaging her dress and other items when she spotted the 'embarrassing' messages to the woman – then assaulting her again when she picked up his phone after two PCs arrived.
Two charges were dropped in court by the Crown Prosecution Service and he was found not guilty on a third by the district judge.
But the misconduct panel concluded Wilson's behaviour – including his inappropriate sexual behaviour towards the 'very junior member of staff of very tender years', who was referred to as Miss B – amounted to gross misconduct.
Chairman of the misconduct panel, Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Hill, who heard the disgraced officer had exchanged 2,800 messages with the woman in just over a week and initiated most of the sexual content, said he would have been sacked from Northumbria Police if he hadn't quit already.
'The panel says Karl Wilson did use force against his wife that was disproportionate and/or unlawful,' ACC Hill added.
'Karl Wilson did send unsolicited messages to Miss B. Between October 20 and October 28 [2022], Karl Wilson sent inappropriate flirtatious and sexually explicit messages to Miss B. Karl Wilson encouraged Miss B to keep their conversations secret to avoid any repercussions.
'Given the seriousness, the proven conduct - individually and cumulatively - amounts to gross misconduct.
'The proven conduct is extremely serious. We will not tolerate any behaviour of this kind in Northumbria Police. If the former officer had remained in service he would have been dismissed without notice.'
Police forces have been rooting out rogue officers following a series of scandals and the panel was told the incident occurred 'against a backdrop of national concern as to the conduct of police officers towards women'.
During Wilson's trial last week, North Tyneside Magistrates Court was told Wilson's wife returned to their home in the Great Park area of Newcastle on October 28 last year and found him intoxicated.
Prosecutor Michael Bunch said she checked his mobile phone due to concerns about her husband's faithfulness and found her 'fears were genuine'.
Wilson, 51, was then accused of tackling her to the ground to seize back his phone, ripping her dress and damaging her necklace and mobile phone in the process.
He was then said to have assaulted her again by grabbing her wrist after he was arrested by police when she dropped his phone and he tried to get it.
Wilson denied the first assault by beating offence and a count of criminal damage and the CPS dropped the charges.
On the witness stand, he admitted he was 'not proud' of the sexual messages but was sober enough to 'recall the whole incident' with his wife.
District Judge Paul Currer then cleared the defendant on the second assault by beating charge after Steven Reed, defending, told him: 'This was someone taking back their own property.'
Outlining the details during the two-day misconduct hearing, John Beggs said: 'The chief superintendent had started texting a very junior member of staff of very tender years in comparison to him.
'It is the appropriate authority's case that the assault and damage reported by his wife was through his endeavour to prevent her from reading these messages.
'In the event, his wife had already discovered the extent and nature of the content of their WhatsApp correspondence. 'Those that instruct me say, by reason of his position of authority, his conduct towards a very junior member of staff of much less age than him was gross misconduct.
'It's right to record that these allegations come against a backdrop of national concern as to the conduct of police officers towards women.' Mr Beggs described Mr Wilson's behaviour following his arrest as 'truculent', adding: 'He had been arrested in a textbook fashion.
'The officers had handcuffed the officer because of his conduct towards his wife.' Wilson, who joined the force in 1998, continues to deny assaulting his wife, or being the cause of the damage to her possessions.
The hearing was told that he disputed that the force he used against his wife was unlawful, claiming he was acting in self-defence. The chairman said: 'He alleges he did take physical hold of his wife to prevent her from hurting herself or him.' Wilson, who did not attend the hearing, admitted inappropriate conduct towards the younger officer, referred to as Miss B.
However, he argued that behaviour amounted to misconduct and not gross misconduct.
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