Ex-cop from South Yorkshire denies porn videos on phone and inappropriate relationship with victim
A disciplinary hearing was told the former cop saved inappropriate images from a stag do Whats App group
A former police officer from South Yorkshire has denied saving extreme porn videos involving animals on his phone - as well as abusing his position by having a sexual relationship with a victim of domestic violence.
Callum Storr, who worked for North Yorkshire Police, was accused of saving inappropriate images to his phone from a stag do WhatsApp group.
The 30-year-old, from Doncaster, was also accused of abusing his position by having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a victim of domestic abuse.
The allegations were aired during a miscondict hearing.
The panel heard that in November 2021, whilst he was on duty, Storr had a briefing about a woman referred to as Ms A.
He had been warned about interactions with her due to her previous relationships with officers.
But the misconduct panel heard how later that year, whilst on duty, he went to her home following a report of domestic abuse.
He was accused of entering "an inappropriate and sexual relationship" with her, which included contact through social media, phone and messages.
The panel heard that they are also alleged to have had sexual relations in his car and at a hotel in Goole.
In a statement read in his absence by a Police Federation representative, he stated he believed he was the "victim of predatory behaviour" and that the allegations were "fake".
In relation to the videos from the WhatsApp group, the panel heard that Storr said if he had been made aware of the videos he would have deleted them and removed himself from the group.
The panel found that Storr, who resigned while under investigation, had committed gross misconduct and would have been dismissed if he was still a serving police officer.
A report following the misconduct hearing said the inappropriate videos were shared in the stag do WhatsApp group, of which Storr was a member, in October 2018.
Storr’s WhatsApp settings were not set to automatically download the media shared in group chats, the report said, meaning he would have “chosen to save, or in the alternative, if they had been automatically saved, they were the only two items that he had chosen to retain”.
Storr denied knowing the videos were on his phone and said he did not interact with them, which the panel rejected.
The report said the panel was also “reinforced in its view” that the videos were “specifically retained” by Storr “by the fact that his phone was noted to also contain extreme material which was of a sexual nature, racist, Islamophobic, antisemitic and otherwise offensive. The origin of this other material is not known.”
Storr claimed he was a “victim” of the woman’s “behaviour” and that North Yorkshire Police “did not do enough to protect him”, according to the report.
But the report said the panel rejected Storr’s claims, adding: “He had plenty of opportunity to reflect on his activity and had detailed guidance as to what would be expected of him to protect himself. He simply chose not to put that into action.”
The panel said Storr, who did not attend the misconduct hearing, “has shown no remorse or insight into his actions and has not accepted his responsibility for his actions”.
“He offered no comment in interview,” the report said.
“The only positive the panel has been able to identify is that he has resigned from the force.”