Former Warwickshire Police officer jailed for attacking girlfriend in Cheshire | News

Paul Whitehurst was jailed for 18 months.

A former Warwickshire Police detective sergeant who left a woman “terrified” after a series of attacks told her “no one would think a drunk because of a police officer on duty”, a court heard.

Paul Whitehurst was given an 18-week jail sentence at Chester Crown Court on Monday but was told he would be released after already serving more than the maximum term the judge could impose while on remand.

The court heard the Warwickshire Police officer, who retired from the force in May, met the woman on the dating website Tinder.

The 53-year-old admitted four counts of assault by beating, relating to three separate occasions.

The court was told the final attack took place when he and the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, argued in December last year.

Anna Price, prosecuting, said the woman tried to leave the property they were in but the defendant dragged her away from the door, pulling her clothes and trying to drag her upstairs.

She said: “At that point the defendant took her phone and told her that no one would believe her a drunk because of a police officer on duty.”

She slipped out of her sweater and T-shirt to get away from him, but he grabbed her again and began dragging her by the arms, the court heard.

Ms Price said the woman was pinned to the floor by Whitehurst, who grabbed her wrists and held them above her head as she screamed at him to let her go.

At one point during the incident, he tore her bra and underwear, Ms Price said.

The court noted that following the assault, the woman ran barefoot from the house, and a man from a neighboring property called the police.

Summarizing a statement from the woman, Ms Price said: “She was terrified of him. Her only option was to run away from home. She was so scared she didn’t know her breasts were exposed.”

Whitehurst pleaded guilty to three counts of assault on the first day of his trial in June after admitting a fourth count at an earlier hearing.

A charge of sexual assault was ordered to remain on file.

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