Former student police officer in Sheffield sentenced for inappropriate relationship with victim
Veza pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in a public office on the day his trial was due to begin
A former student police officer who had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a victim of crime has been sentenced.
Robert Veza, aged 45, was serving on a neighbourhood policing team in Sheffield in 2023 when he first contacted the victim to discuss a crime she had reported.
Over the following months, Veza sent the victim messages which became increasingly familiar and in early 2024 he went to her house late in the evening, while her children were upstairs, under the guise he wanted to help her with another crime report. Before leaving he kissed the victim and exposed himself to her.
Veza continued to contact and visit the victim, who had mental health problems and was vulnerable, and instigated an inappropriate sexual relationship that continued into summer 2024.
His offending came to light when the victim sent a letter to a senior South Yorkshire Police officer, which included a disclosure that a serving officer had been to her house several times and it had become sexual. The officer passed the letter to the force's Professional Standards Department and an investigation was launched immediately.
Veza was identified and subsequently arrested and suspended from duties in September 2024. He was summonsed to court to face the charge of misconduct in a public office in February 2026.
Veza had initially denied the offence but on 28th September he pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in a public office on the day his trial was due to begin at Sheffield Crown Court. Yesterday (Wednesday 14 October) he was handed a sentence of 16 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, plus costs and surcharges.
Veza was in his probation period with the force at the time of his offending. He resigned in January of this year. An internal misconduct investigation has been ongoing alongside the criminal proceedings and following his conviction this will now progress despite his resignation.
DC Gary Godwin, the officer in the case, said:
"Veza's offending is inexcusable. There is no place in South Yorkshire Police for people like him - he took advantage of a vulnerable member of our community who should have been able to place her trust in him.
"I'd like to praise the victim for her dignity during this investigation and thank her for supporting us to bring Veza to justice. I know this must have been particularly difficult in the knowledge the perpetrator was a serving police officer at the time and it was brave of her to reach out to another officer to tell us what had happened.
"Colleagues across the force are as shocked by Veza's actions as members of the public will be, and we will always investigate such cases without fear or favour."
South Yorkshire Police said:
"We will root out any officers, staff members or volunteers who fail to reflect the values of our organisation and fall below the standards members of the public rightly expect."