A SENIOR officer who abused his position for sexual purposes, has been dismissed this week following a gross misconduct hearing.
An independent hearing chaired by Assistant Chief Constable John Murphy of Bedfordshire Police took place after an investigation led by the Independent Office of Police Conduct.
Essex Police had referred the case to the IOPC to investigate in March 2022 following multiple allegations, at which time the officer was suspended.
The IOPC conducted a full criminal investigation. This resulted in a referral by them to the Crown Prosecution Service in January 2024. In June 2024 the CPS made the decision the individual would face no further criminal action.
This week, at a gross misconduct hearing, a panel led by the independent chair found that former Chief Superintendent Tom Simons had:
- Abused his position for a sexual purpose with a colleague.
- Engaged in sexualised behaviour at work with two colleagues.
- On one occasion engaged in sexual behaviour without consent.
- Failed to disclose his relationship with a colleague when he knew he should do so.
The panel also found that Chief Superintendent Tom Simons had breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour concerning Integrity; Authority, Respect & Courtesy; Duties & Responsibilities and Discreditable Conduct.
The panel found his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and that he should be dismissed without notice. The panel also ordered that his name should be placed on the College of Policing Barred List, with the result that he will not be able to join any UK police force at any time in the future.
The independent chair had decided that the gross misconduct hearing should take place in private to protect the anonymity of the individuals who had spoken-up to complain about the behaviour of the former officer and to ensure the integrity of the proceedings as they happened.
Following the hearing which commenced on 31 March 2025 and which concluded this week, the chair decided to name the former officer in the interests of transparency. Essex Police made strong submissions to the chair requesting that, if charges were proven, the officer should be named at the end of proceedings.
The force has welcomed the chair’s decision to name former officer Tom Simons.
Chief Constable of Essex Ben-Julian Harrington QPM said:
“There is simply no place in policing for people who think, wrongly, that they can get away with sexual misconduct.
“I pay tribute to the witnesses in this case and to those who supported them in coming forward. You saw something that was wrong and then you did the right thing. I want to praise your courage in being up-standing and in trusting us to see this through.
“It’s super-clear in Essex; if you speak up, you’ll be listened to and there will be action to help you. But if you try to get away with sexual misconduct or the kind of abhorrent behaviour we have seen in this case, we’ll catch you. We’ll investigate you and if allegations are proved then we’ll do everything in our power to make sure you never work in policing again.
“I will be completely frank. This case is particularly disappointing given the seniority of the former officer.
“Finally, I would like to thank the professional journalists who have reported on this important matter so responsibly; you are helping to shine a light on a serious case while rightly protecting the anonymity of a number of people who so bravely spoke-up.
“I would also like to thank the Essex Police detectives who helped the IOPC gather the evidence which brought Tom Simons to justice; your dedication to duty is clear to see.”
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