Yorkshire police inspector denies inappropriately touching two teenagers 20 years ago

Inspector Craig Mattinson, of Humberside Police, has been accused of inappropriate behaviour by two women, who were 14 and 17 years old at the time of the alleged incidents, when they shared a flat in Hull.

The younger woman, Miss A, has alleged that the officer, now 47, touched her bottom and grasped her breast when he visited the flat in about 2004.

The other complainant, Miss B, has alleged the officer touched her inappropriately and kissed her when he drove her to his house in Hull, where they had a pizza delivered and drank wine.

Giving evidence before a panel in Goole, East Yorkshire on Tuesday, Insp Mattinson denied all the allegations against him.

Asked by his barrister Helen Chapman if he touched Miss A as she described, he said: "It never happened."

The officer confirmed from his notebook that he went to the flat in June 2004 to deal with a report from Miss B of a window being broken but denied anything inappropriate happened.

He said records showed there was a lot of police activity at the flat at the time, to do with anti-social behaviour, but he told the hearing: "I don't really recall going there at all.

"I know it's in my notebook but I don't really recall it."

Asked by Miss Chapman about Miss A's allegation that the officer sat in her flat in full uniform surrounded by young people drinking and smoking cannabis, Insp Mattinson said: "I wouldn't have turned a blind eye to that kind of thing."

He also denied Miss B had ever been in his car or that he had sent text messages to the women.

When Miss Chapman asked whether Miss B had ever been to his house, he replied "absolutely not", adding that he had never ordered takeaway pizza.

The officer admitted that more than 20 years ago he had a "one-night stand" with a woman he dealt with as a burglary victim.

He said that some time later there was an investigation into whether he had tipped off this woman about her impending arrest as part of a drugs operation and this led to him being temporarily moved out of CID.

But he told the misconduct hearing he was exonerated when it was found another officer had fed the woman the information.

Miss A said Insp Mattinson had told her about why he had been moved out of CID but the officer said it was common knowledge within Humberside Police at that time and he would not have volunteered it to a member of the public as it was embarrassing.

The panel of one superintendent and two civilians has been told the allegation is that the officer engaged in contact with both girls "both on and off duty, which was unprofessional, sexual and/or inappropriate in nature".

It is alleged that this conduct breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to discreditable conduct and amounts to gross misconduct.

Insp Mattinson told the hearing he joined the force in 1997.

The officer admitted that the mother of a 15-year-old girl complained about him in 2001 after she found out he was exchanging messages with the teenager in an internet chat room.

He told the hearing he believed the girl was an adult during his chats, which he said were not sexual.

Insp Mattinson denied he had been intending to meet the girl.

He told the panel that, when the girl's mother sent him abusive messages telling him how old she was, he admitted he was a police officer and offered to speak to her about what had happened.

Insp Mattinson disputed that he had received a written superintendent's warning over the incident, which happened when he was 26, saying he was given "words of advice".

Olivia Checa-Dover, presenting the case against the officer, asked him: "It's a pattern of you being unable or unwilling to regulate your behaviour towards females, that's right isn't it?"

Insp Mattinson said: "No."

Asked how the allegations had impacted on his life, the officer told the panel: "It's obviously destroyed my whole life."

He said: "It's all over the press. I've got absolutely no idea where it's come from or why.

"For the last 15 months, every day it's been the most horrendous experience I have ever had and I don't understand why it had got to this."