A vulnerable woman who says she was ‘groomed’ by a Metropolitan Police officer after he was called out to check on her welfare has waited almost 1,800 days for a misconduct hearing to be held into his actions.
The woman said Phil Hunter, who previously worked in the same parliamentary protection unit as Wayne Couzens and David Carrick, would send sexual messages and call her late at night, isolated her from family and friends and encouraged her to make false crime reports.
The allegations came to light after Mr Hunter was investigated in a case of gross misconduct for having a sexual relationship with a different woman, who he met on a welfare check while she was suicidal.
In that case, he left the force before he could be dismissed and was able to get a job as a taxi driver in London before his licence was revoked.
After the second woman, who MailOnline will call Lorraine, came forward to police, the force initially refused to hold a hearing, arguing it was not in the public interest because he had already left the force. But a scathing ruling from the IOPC this year overturned the decision, finding that investigators had violated policing guidance.
Lorraine has now been told a date has been set for August, almost 1,800 days – five years after she originally reported his actions to an officer.
A woman who was ‘groomed’ by Met Police officer Phil Hunter has had to wait five years for a misconduct hearing
Documents seen by MailOnline show commanders at the force repeatedly failed to log his victim’s complaints and suggested she should ‘move on with her life’ instead of ‘focusing on failures of police and the alleged crimes against her’.
She claims she has been so traumatised by his actions she now has a constant tracker and a panic alarm at her home, both linked to the emergency services.
Lorraine told MailOnline why she did not give up fighting for PC Hunter to be held accountable, saying: ‘By doing nothing, he walks away and is able to apply to be a police officer again in a few years.’
Lorraine first met PC Hunter when he was sent out to her home to perform a welfare check.
As he left, he gave her a hug and gave her his personal mobile number, telling her to contact him for support.
‘I thought he was my friend,’ Lorraine said. ‘I was so vulnerable.’
Mr Hunter previously worked in the same unit as serial rapist David Carrick (pictured)
After a few initial messages, Lorraine said PC Hunter stopped messaging her. But then, in 2019, he suddenly got back in contact.
What Lorraine didn’t know was while the pair were not in touch there were ongoing misconduct proceedings against him. When he contacted her again, he had quit the Met pending a misconduct hearing and was no longer a serving police officer – but did not tell Lorraine that.
Facing harassment from an ex-partner, Lorraine continued to report incidents and alleged crimes to Hunter, believing he was in a position to investigate them.
Another former parliamentary protection officer was Wayne Couzens (pictured), who abducted, raped and killed Sarah Everard
She says messages and phone calls between the pair soon turned from professional to overtly sexual and controlling.
‘He would tell me I was beautiful and lovely, that he was the only person who could support me,’ Lorraine said.
‘He told me not to have contact with my friends and family, that he was the only person who could care for me.
‘None of the crimes I reported to him were ever logged.
‘I began to think the only way anyone would help me would be if I slept with him, and I was so mentally unwell I thought to myself, it’s a small price to pay.’
Messages between the pair show how Hunter called Lorraine ‘lovely’ and ‘beautiful’, in messages filled with sexual innuendo.
In one exchange, Hunter told her: ‘I have to behave. I’ll keep you smiling,’ adding: ‘You have a lovely smile.’
Lorraine replied: ‘How would you know that? Not sure you would recognise me if you feel over me in the street.’
Hunter said: ‘Want a bet on that? Tall and extremely beautiful.’
Shortly after, Hunter wrote: ‘I’ll stop now as my texts could be read wrongly. You are a beautiful person.’
But then he wrote: ‘Are you in bed yet?’
He later said: ‘Just on 3% and you can be as naughty as you like with me.’
Lorraine also felt manipulated into providing a positive character statement for his misconduct hearing, something she says other officers encouraged.
‘I sobbed throughout,’ Lorraine told MailOnline. ‘I was convinced it was the only way he would help me and the harassment against me would actually be investigated.’
Lorraine (not pictured) said the former police officer would send her sexual text messages and call her late at night
Documents seen by MailOnline show Lorraine was so distressed while giving her statement, officers completed a Merlin report – an assessment completed when police officers are concerned for a person’s welfare.
Hunter had also encouraged her to make false crime reports against her ex-partner and threatened to turn up at his house to ‘sort him out’, Lorraine claims.
She first felt Hunter’s behaviour towards her was wrong in the second half of 2019. She reported this to a senior officer in September, but nothing was done, an official investigation found.
The 2022 probe ultimately concluded: ‘I have determined that there has been a case to answer for Gross Misconduct.
‘Having found a case to answer it is my view that a referral to disciplinary proceedings in this matter would be a disproportionate response in the circumstances of this case.
‘Former PC Hunter is no longer a serving officer, the public are protected as former PC Hunter is on the college of policing barred list and cannot be employed within Policing UK.’
Lorraine appealed the outcome to the IOPC, arguing the decision meant Hunter was able to escape being ‘labelled a serial predator’ and it left her with ‘no justice’.
A ruling by the IOPC upheld her complaint and savaged the Met for breaking policing guidance.
Regulation 19(4) of the guidance states any investigation which finds a case to answer for gross misconduct should be referred for a misconduct hearing, which can then be reported on my media and is a matter of public record.
The IOPC concluded: ‘Public confidence will not be enhanced unless the finding of a case to answer is confirmed by a misconduct panel and publicised; If the finding is not publicised then other officers and staff will not be aware of the decision and therefore it will not act as a deterrent factor to other officers; and The public will not be protected if Mr Hunter is able to have his name removed from the Barred List in a few years’ time.’
Despite the victory, it comes as hollow for Lorraine.
‘I shouldn’t have had to go through all this,’ she says. ‘It’s been five years. It’s been brutal, absolutely brutal.
‘I have a constant tracker that links directly to police. I have a panic alarm in the house in case he turns up.
‘I shouldn’t have to put up with this.’
PC Hunter’s hearing will go ahead at the start of August.
The Metropolitan Police said it was unable to comment on ongoing cases. Former officer Hunter previously denied the allegations against him.
