West Yorkshire student police officer found guilty of sexual offences

A West Yorkshire student police officer has been found guilty of sexually touching two female victims while on a night out in Leeds.

The student police officer, Charlie Valente, was found guilty after a trial at Leeds Crown Court of three counts of sexual touching.

The 24-year-old was based at Learning and Organisational Development and is now due to be sentenced on 3rd June.

The charges relate to crimes committed against two women between 4th and 5th November 2022.

According to Detective Chief Superintendent Tanya Wilkins, the first victim reported a pattern of behaviour by the student officer over the course of a night out, including unwanted sexual touching, which made the victim “extremely uncomfortable”.

The Head of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate added: “As part of our enquiries, we reviewed CCTV and established that there was also a second potential victim.

“She was identified and spoken to and again confirmed that she had not consented to the sexual touching she was subjected to.”

However, PC Valente has been said to show no remorse for his actions. In her statement the Detective Chief Superintendent said: “PC Valente has not accepted responsibility for his actions and the distress they caused.”

PC Valente has now been suspended from duty. The student police officer will be taken to a misconduct hearing with a view to him being barred from working in the police force following the conclusion of his court case.

The full statement from West Yorkshire Police is as follows: “What was reported to the police by the first victim was a pattern of behaviour by this student officer over the course of a night out that has made her extremely uncomfortable, including unwanted sexual touching.

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“As part of our enquiries, we reviewed CCTV and established that there was also a second potential victim. She was identified and spoken to and again confirmed that she had not consented to the sexual touching she was subjected to.

“PC Valente has not accepted responsibility for his actions and the distress they caused.

“He is currently suspended from duty. Following the conclusion of this court case, we will be proceeding with taking PC Valente to a misconduct hearing with a view to him being barred from the profession.”

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