Ex-Officer Jailed 3 Years for Assaulting Victim He Investigated

A former West Yorkshire Police officer was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday after admitting to sexually assaulting a vulnerable single mother while investigating her report of a prior sex offense. Patrick Banks, 42, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and misconduct in public office at Sheffield Crown Court.

The incident involved a woman who had reported being assaulted in Leeds in April 2025. As a detective constable in the force's specialist adult safeguarding unit, Banks was assigned to the case. Court proceedings revealed that he fabricated messages using Google Translate to appear in French, asking the woman to translate them. The content included phrases such as "I like you a lot," "I want to take off your underwear with my teeth," and "Do you miss sex." During one interaction, Banks touched her inappropriately and smelled her hair.

Prosecutor Mark Bates detailed how Banks contacted the woman from his personal phone and visited her home off-duty in his own vehicle, while implying the visits were official. He purchased gifts for one of her children and viewed her social media profiles more than 100 times. The woman, who was homeless with two children at the...