A married former police officer who laughed after slapping a woman on the bottom and told her “this will be our little secret” has been spared jail. Alex Trusler, a former constable with Staffordshire Police, carried out “lecherous and predatory” sexual assaults on three colleagues.
Trusler pleaded guilty to four offences, which took place in July this year, after Northampton Crown Court heard he kissed and touched a woman at work and sexually assaulted two others while drunk at a social event. The court was told that the 36-year-old slapped a woman on the bottom and laughed, telling her “this will be our little secret”.
Trusler, who joined Staffordshire Police in January 2020, was a serving officer at the time of the offences but resigned on September 1. The former officer, based in Cannock, Staffordshire, had also worked as a prison service worker.
Career and Personal Impact
Judge Rebecca Crane heard that the disgraced officer, whose wife attended the hearing, has now secured a new job. Due to the publicity surrounding his offences, he also moved house, the judge was told. Trusler now has “hope in a loving and supportive family” as he received a suspended jail term.
Sentencing Trusler for four counts of sexual assault, the judge said: “At the time of these offences you were a serving police officer, having joined Staffordshire Police in January 2020.”
Judge’s Remarks
Judge Crane added: “This lecherous and predatory behaviour had an impact on your victims. Given you were a serving police officer, there is a wider impact as your behaviour undermines public confidence in the police.” The judge added that Trusler’s actions meant he had thrown away his career in public service.
Judge Crane also said Trusler had shown a “degree of minimisation” in a pre-sentence report, telling him: “Any suggestion that there was a culture of flirtatious banter is not mitigation – and your behaviour went far beyond that.”
Sentence and Victim Impact
The former officer, originally from Burntwood in Staffordshire, also claimed he had no recollection of the offences at the social event and showed no obvious emotion in the dock as he was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid community work. He was also told to pay compensation of £600 to each of his victims.
Today, he was sentenced to a 42-week jail term, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years. Chris Pembridge, prosecuting, read victim personal statements from two of the women into the court record prior to sentence. He said one of the complainants had made it clear she had no interest in Trusler and that she had “never been made to feel so uncomfortable”.
Offering mitigation prior to the sentence, defence barrister Mark Karpinski said Trusler had studied forensic investigation at university, worked in the prison sector with young and adult offenders, and then worked as a community support officer. The lawyer said: “These convictions leave his police career and his life in ruins.”
As a result of his offending, Trusler has been placed on the barred list of the College of Policing. Mr Karpinski added: “Everything he has ever worked for in the field of criminal justice has been lost and is gone, never to return.”
Police Response
In a statement issued after the case, Staffordshire Police said Trusler resigned on September 1. A gross misconduct hearing held last week found that he would have been dismissed had he not resigned.
Staffordshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Caroline Marsh said: “As soon as these allegations were reported, he was suspended from duty, and a thorough investigation was launched by our Anti-Corruption Unit. His guilty pleas reflect the seriousness of his offending.
“There is no place in policing for individuals who abuse their position or engage in this kind of behaviour. I would like to thank the victims for the courage they have shown throughout this investigation.
“We remain committed to taking robust action whenever allegations of this nature are made and will always work to maintain the confidence of the public we serve.”
