PRESS RELEASE : Police Officer jailed for misconduct in public office [April 2024]

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 12 April 2024.

A police officer who engaged in sexual activities with a woman whilst on duty has suspended sentence quashed and sent to jail after it was referred to the Court of Appeal.

Matthew Longmate, 47, from Derbyshire, had his 12 months’ suspended sentence overturned and has been sentenced for 11 months imprisonment after the Solicitor General referred his sentence as being unduly lenient.

The court heard that Longmate and a fellow officer engaged in sexual activity with a woman in a police vehicle whilst they were on duty.

The offence occurred after the officers gave the woman a lift home after an incident in a bar in Chesterfield.

The Solicitor General, Robert Courts KC MP, said:

Matthew Longmate’s abuse of his position for sexual gain was sickening and I extend my deepest sympathies to the victim at what must be a difficult time.

Longmate’s extended sentence sends a clear message that there are serious consequences for those who carry out misconduct in a public office.

Longmate was charged for one count of misconduct in a public office. He received a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for one year, at Southwark Crown Court on 15 January 2024.

On 12 April 2024, the Court of Appeal quashed Longmate’s previous sentence, and sentenced him to 11 months imprisonment after it was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.