Police inspector filmed himself having sex with junior officer while on duty, court hears

A police inspector filmed himself having sex with a junior police officer while on duty before saying he had to leave to go shopping with his wife, a court heard.

Former Detective Chief Inspector David Rolls, 46, is accused of using his senior position to take advantage of the female officer.

After meeting as part of his work with Sussex Police, the detective began sending the junior officer a series of “flirty texts”.

For more than a year they had a close relationship and would exchange texts and photos.

On one occasion he sent her a photograph of himself sitting naked touching his penis.

When he later visited her at her home he exposed himself to her and asked her: “Is there anything else?”

On another occasion he visited her home again and asked her to give him oral sex, which she did.

Asked why, the junior officer said she had done it to please the senior officer, who, the court was told, was married with two children.

The pair later went on to have sex on the floor of her home, with Rolls allegedly filming or taking photos on his mobile phone.

Rolls, who has since resigned as detective chief inspector with Sussex Police, went on trial at Lewes Crown Court charged with misconduct in a public office on Monday.

The court heard the alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had suffered health problems.

Rolls met the junior officer, who worked within the same police force, in the summer of 2016.

However, in January and February 2017, his relationship with her began to change, as Rolls became increasingly flirty and started to exchange photos with her.

Alisdair Smith, prosecuting, said: “This included one of him sitting naked touching his penis. This was a picture he regularly mentioned to her and suggested that she might like to see again.

“He would, according to her, introduce the subject by saying words to the effect of: ‘Is there anything else?’”

On another occasion, he visited her house and, as he was leaving, she could see he was aroused.

Mr Smith said: “He said: ‘Is there anything else ... Do you want a hug?’”

He said the detective inspector then took out his penis and asked the junior officer to give him oral sex.

Mr Smith said: “Asked why she had done this, she said it was to please him.

He added: “[Rolls] had intercourse with her, albeit only for a short period of time. While he was doing that he had his phone out and she assumed he was taking a picture or video of what he was doing.

“After that, he needed to go to the shops with his wife and then left.”

‘Things escalated’

In a police interview video played to the court the alleged victim was asked whether Rolls was on duty when he visited her.

She replied: “Every time he came round to my house he was. He was wearing his smart clothes.”

The woman said: “I guess we became friends and I confided in him with how I was feeling. Our friendship turned a little bit into something more.

“Things escalated to us sending pictures to each other and I remember he’d asked to see a picture of me, like a naked one, but I didn’t really feel comfortable sending a naked one.

“I sent him one with my naked stomach. I was sitting with white pants and he said he wanted to see what was under the pants.

“I remember sending one when I was in the bath and there were loads of bubbles so you couldn’t see my private bits and my hand was there and he said he wanted to see what was under my hand.”

She added: “He’d always text to ask if he could come round and he’d always come in his work stuff, on duty, carrying his notebook.”

‘Almost running out of ideas’

The woman continued: “I sent pictures of me in my pants. I was self-conscious and then he’d keep wanting more.

“I felt pressured to keep sending more intimate ones, like I was almost disappointing him by not sending the ones he wanted. Like he’d say: ‘That’s not what I want to see.’

“I remember almost running out of ideas of what pictures I was meant to be sending. As time went on they got more intimate and there were pictures of me naked and he’d want close-ups of my private parts, so I sent him several pictures like that.”

The court heard on one occasion Rolls showed her a 10-second video of himself performing a sex act in his bathroom.

She said she told him the video turned her on because she did not want to lose him as a friend.

Lewes Crown Court heard that eventually the junior officer’s husband found three images of her naked on an old mobile phone, and confronted her and demanded to know to whom she had sent the photos.

The court heard the pair later separated and divorced.

The jury was told her relationship with the senior officer ended on Nov 21 2017.

Rolls denies misconduct in a public office.

The case continues.