A police officer has been sacked after being accused of sexually assaulting a colleague in a hotel room.
PC Daniel Julian is alleged to have assaulted a fellow officer, whose anonymity is protected by law, in a hotel room in Kent in the early hours of August 17, 2021.
He was cleared by a jury of three counts of sexual assault, attempted rape and causing a woman to engage in sexual activity at Lewes Crown Court in April 2024.
Earlier this month, Julian, who worked in Chichester at the time of the alleged incident, faced a police misconduct panel in relation to the incident.
On March 30, Sussex Police’s assistant chief constable Rosie Ross announced he was to be dismissed without notice and recommended he be placed on the College of Policing barred list.
The panel found gross misconduct was proven.
The complainant, referred to as PC Y, alleges that Julian first grabbed her arm and tried to pull her into his hotel room when she delivered toothpaste to his door after he falsely claimed he had forgotten his own.
Around 22 minutes later, at around 1.20am, Julian knocked on the door of her hotel room in only a towel. PC Y claims Julian “barged in” when she opened the door slightly, before pinning her against a wall and gripping her wrist, kissing her neck.
He later went on to straddle her on the floor while he was naked and pin her down with his knee, PC Y alleges, rubbing his penis on her. She also accuses him of causing her to touch his penis when he offered her a hand to get up off the floor.
During the incident, which lasted around 40 minutes, PC Y pressed record on her mobile phone, which was under the bed, and captured the audio for the last 16 minutes.
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In the recording, PC Y can be heard telling Julian “no” 62 times and asking him to leave her hotel room 54 times.
Robert Talalay, representative for the appropriate authority, described the incident as “abusive, appalling, oppressive behaviour”.
He said “consent was expressly and repeatedly denied” and that PC Y made the recording as she was scared of being raped.
“To ignore the denial of consent or removal of consent and requests to leave for over 15 minutes, that’s harassing, it was sexual,” Mr Talalay said.
Mark Aldred, representing Julian, said PC Y made the recording due to fears of rumours being circulated that she had cheated on her partner during the incident.
He said: “She wanted a record to stop a rumour mill and make it clear she did not engage in any unfaithfulness.
“If it was really a fear of rape she would never have opened the door.”
Julian denied “barging” into the room, pinning PC Y to the wall or floor, straddling her while naked or causing her to touch his penis.
Detective Superintendent Andy Wolstenholme said: “This case centred on a victim who showed strength in the face of persistent, unwanted behaviour, and an officer who breached the trust of their colleague whilst away on a police training course.
“When supporting victims, we are clear that ‘no means no’, there is no ambiguity, and so when PC Julian tried to initiate an intimate encounter and was told ‘no’ repeatedly, it was clear that he knew that his behaviour was entirely inappropriate, yet he continued regardless.
“He has been dismissed as a result. We are unequivocable; misogyny and sexual misconduct have no place in Sussex Police, and any officer who fails to respect the boundaries, autonomy and voice of others will face decisive action.