Dorset Police officer sentenced for misconduct in public office
Bristol Crown Court heard James McClements pursued an inappropriate relationship with a domestic abuse victim.
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A former Dorset Police officer has been sentenced for misconduct in a public office after forming an intimate relationship with a domestic abuse victim.
James McClements, 35, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office at Bristol Crown Court on Friday 10 April 2026. He was sentenced at the same court on Tuesday 16 June 2026 to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months.
McClements resigned from the Force in April 2025.
The charge relates to an inappropriate sexual relationship that the former officer had with a victim of domestic abuse he met in November 2023 as part of an investigation.
McClements provided the victim with his personal telephone number and made inappropriate contact with her and pursued an intimate sexual relationship.
On one occasion, McClements discouraged the victim from reporting contact she had with the reported domestic abuse perpetrator in order to protect himself.
The matter was reported to Dorset Police in November 2024 and McClements was arrested and interviewed under caution.
A misconduct hearing was held on Tuesday 19 May 2026 and found that he had committed gross misconduct and would have been dismissed from the Force had he not already resigned.