A former police inspector who abused his position of authority to sexually abuse young men in police custody has today been jailed for 10 years.

Gerard Hutchings, 67, of Ashurst, carried out unlawful strip searches on 18 victims over an eight-year period, exploiting his status as a senior police officer to target young men who were under his care and control.

He was convicted by a jury of five counts of indecent assault, five counts of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one count of misconduct in public office.

He had previously admitted 17 counts of misconduct in public office.

The offences took place between 1999 and 2007 while Hutchings was serving as a Hampshire police inspector.

Victims, aged between 17 and 31 at the time, were subjected to unjustified strip searches carried out in private, away from the scrutiny of colleagues. Hutchings used those encounters to commit sexual offences.

Evidence from 18 victims helped establish a consistent pattern of offending spanning almost a decade, exposing Hutchings' systematic abuse of his position as a senior police officer.

The Crown Prosecution Service proved that Hutchings abused the authority of his role to obtain compliance from those in his custody. 

The victims did not freely consent to his actions but were confronted by a senior police officer exercising unlawful power over them.

Anthony Johns of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Gerard Hutchings carried out a sustained abuse of power, using his position as a police inspector to target young men who were entitled to expect lawful and professional treatment.

“He exploited his authority to subject victims to humiliating and unjustified strip searches before sexually offending against them.

“Working closely with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, prosecutors built a compelling case from the accounts of 18 victims, exposing a pattern of offending that spanned almost a decade and demonstrating that compliance obtained through the misuse of authority is not consent.

“I would like to pay tribute to the victims for the courage they have shown in coming forward. Their evidence was vital in bringing Hutchings to justice.”