Cop in court: Ex-Doncaster officer pleads guilty after sending 'sexualised messages' to 'vulnerable' victim

41-year-old Stuart Trentham pleaded guilty to an offence of ‘holder of public office while acting as a police officer wilfully neglected to perform their duty and wilfully misconducted himself’.

This afternoon’s brief hearing heard how the offence was carried out between July 1, 2022 and August 20, 2022.

Trentham, of Maycroft Avenue, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, no longer works for South Yorkshire Police, a spokesperson for the force confirmed.

Detailing the circumstances of Trentham’s conduct following his guilty plea, a South Yorkshire Police (SYP) spokesperson said: “Former PC Stuart Trentham, who was based in Doncaster, sent increasingly flirtatious and sexualised messages to a vulnerable victim.

“The victim reported the inappropriate messages to SYP in August 2022 after she noticed a shift in the tone of the conversation, which was initially regarding her case which he had investigated.

“Officers in the force’s Professional Standards Department launched an investigation immediately and arrested Trentham on 23 August 2022. He was suspended from duties on the same day.”

Trentham spoke only to enter his plea in front of the Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC.

Judge Richardson adjourned Trentham’s sentencing hearing until January 2025, to allow for the preparation of reports.

“This is a serious matter, as I’m sure you appreciate. However, you are released on bail,” Judge Richardson told Trentham.

The SYP spokesperson added: “In interview, Trentham answered no comment to all questions but investigators secured a charge after obtaining crucial evidence from his devices which showed he had sent a series of inappropriate messages to the victim between July and August 2022.”

At Sheffield Crown Court today, Trentham pleaded guilty to one count of wilful misconduct/ wilfully neglecting to perform his duty as a holder of a public office.

“An accelerated misconduct hearing into an unrelated internal investigation regarding inappropriate access of computer systems was held on 21 December 2023.

“The hearing found that the allegations constituted gross misconduct and the outcome of the hearing was that Trentham would have been dismissed without notice, had he not already resigned.”

Det Supt James Axe, head of the Professional Standards Department, added: “The public expect and deserve the very highest standards of professionalism when interacting with our officers, especially when they are the victim of a crime.

“Trentham’s behaviour was utterly unacceptable, and this case shows we will not hesitate to pursue justice against police officers who commit crimes and fail to uphold our high standards and true values.”