AN Avon and Somerset police officer had sex with a vulnerable woman and boasted of other affairs he had had, it is claimed.

PC Alexander Alderson, who is no longer a member of the force, faces a misconduct hearing for allegedly breaching the Standards of Professional Behaviour for police officers.

A panel chaired by Chief Constable Sarah Crew at the constabulary's HQ in Portishead on Tuesday (March 26) will be told that:

  • he had sex with the woman who he knew to be vulnerable;
  • on January 2 last year, while on duty and on police premises, Alderson took three inappropriate photographs of himself in police issued uniform and sent these images to the vulnerable woman via WhatsApp;
  • he also sent a series of sexually explicit messages and referred to the woman in a demeaning and degrading manner;
  • and a series of messages were also sent to the woman, which included graphic descriptions of sexual encounters that the former officer said he had with other females.

The allegations are said to breach police standards of honesty and integrity; authority, respect and courtesy; and amount to discreditable conduct.

If proven, the allegations would amount to gross misconduct.