PA MediaA detective accused of having a sexual relationship with a sexual assault victim whose case he had helped investigate has “damaged trust in the police”, prosecutors say.
Det Con Wasim Bashir was working for the Kirklees Safeguarding Team with West Yorkshire Police when he began a relationship with the woman, after she had reported being attacked to police.
Mr Bashir is also accused of contacting three other women – who had each reported being raped – looking for a sexual relationship, inviting one to spend Christmas with him, and telling another she looked “sexy”.
The 55-year-old, of Ploughmans Croft, Bradford, who is on trial at Sheffield Crown Court, denies misconduct in a public office.
Mr Bashir is accused of having sex on two occasions with a 22-year-old woman who reported being the victim of a sexual assault to police in 2020.
Giving his closing speech, prosecutor Tony Dunne said the woman told Mr Bashir she felt safe with him because “you’re supposed to feel safe” with a policeman.
He said by the time the woman reported the relationship over a year later, she had “lost all trust in the police”, saying: “They all just want to have sex.”
The prosecutor told jurors Mr Bashir’s alleged behaviour would “damage trust in the police” and “cause all of you to be rightly concerned about whether people who reported sexual offences in the future would be properly and safely dealt with”.
The 22-year-old woman told the court Mr Bashir and a female officer had been involved in taking her statement when she first reported the sexual assault
She said Mr Bashir had been in touch with her a few days later to ask if she was ok, and they had agreed to meet for a coffee.
The jury heard they met at the Xscape Centre in Pontefract, before Mr Bashir drove her to a quiet location where they had some sexual contact in his car.
The woman said she had sex with Bashir at her grandmother’s house on two occasions after that, but their meetings stopped when she started another relationship.
Jurors heard the woman decided to report the relationship to police at the end of 2021.
Another woman, who was 18 when she reported a rape in 2019, said Mr Bashir, who had been involved in administering her case, would sometimes turn up unannounced at her home and, on one occasion, contacted her out of the blue to invite her to a local restaurant.
Another alleged rape victim described several occasions when Mr Bashir suggested they meet socially, like going for a walk during lockdown, going out for chicken and chips in Bradford, and spending Christmas with him and his sister.
The woman said she did not take up these invitations, but did not see his behaviour as inappropriate, describing him as a kind and caring officer.
Another reported rape victim said Mr Bashir had invited her for dinner and drinks, which she had declined, and messaged her on Snapchat saying: “You look sexy with blonde hair.”
‘Blurred the lines’
During the investigation into him, Mr Bashir’s personal phone was also found to contain a screenshot of the Facebook profile of another woman who had reported a serious sexual assault to West Yorkshire Police in June 2021.
Mr Bashir has denied that any sexual relationship with the first woman took place, or that any of his actions were sexually motivated.
He told jurors that he had not been looking for a sexual partner since his marriage ended around 2017.
In his closing speech to jurors, Jason Pitter KC, defending, said Mr Bashir “would not throw away 31 years of good character” and that messages between him and the first woman showed her “seeking him out for advice”.
Mr Pitter said: “The way he operates, for some of the women, may have blurred the lines, but that’s not what he’s accused of.”
West Yorkshire Police said Mr Bashir has been suspended from duty since his arrest.
The trial continues.
