Court of Appeal Jails Ex‑Dorset Officer Over Sexual Relationship With Abuse Victim

Overview

• The Court of Appeal increased James McClements’s sentence to 15 months’ imprisonment on 29 July 2026 after the Attorney General referred his original suspended term as unduly lenient.
• McClements pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office for pursuing a sexual relationship with a domestic‑abuse victim he met while on duty and for pressuring her to keep it secret.
• The court found the relationship began after a November 2023 police visit and lasted from December 2023 to July 2024, during which McClements discouraged the victim from reporting a breach of bail that put her at risk.
• Prosecutors said McClements also improperly accessed police computer records about the victim and her former partner on multiple occasions, and he resigned from Dorset Police in April 2025.
• The Attorney General and CPS framed the ruling as a signal that serious breaches of professional duty will draw custodial sentences and the public can report police wrongdoing to services such as Crimestoppers’ Police Anti‑Corruption and Abuse Reporting Service.