The face of a disgraced former Essex police officer who filmed himself sexually assaulting a woman

A disgraced former police officer who filmed himself sexually assaulting a woman has been sentenced to four years in prison. Steven Tissier, 38, of Chelmsford, was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and one count of voyeurism following a trial in February.

The judge said the former police officer’s actions “made life more difficult for decent officers trying to do their jobs.” Tissier’s behavior caused the survivor to struggle with health issues, which included turning to alcohol.

Tissier thought the woman he knew was sleeping on a sofa when he touched her leg, thigh and bottom. Later, when she woke up and waited for a taxi to take her home, he sexually assaulted her again by groping her breast under her top.

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The survivor bravely told a friend what happened and reported it to the police. The attack occurred in March 2022 at Tissier’s home address after Tissier and the victim had spent a night in London with others.

During the investigation, five short videos were found on Tissier’s phone that showed him attacking the victim while he thought she was sleeping. He sent it to a friend a few hours after the survivor went home, with no instructions to delete it afterwards.

Tissier, who had worked as a tour manager since leaving Essex Police, is said to have left the victim in a state of shock after being woken up by the attack. Mr Matthew Sorel-Campbell, prosecuting, said Tissier was a “significant figure” on his shift at Essex Police, based in Basildon.

“(The survivor) woke up to him sexually assaulting her, but she kept her eyes closed and pretended to be asleep,” Mr Sorel-Campbell said. He later summarized a victim impact statement in which the survivor reported anxiety and sleepless nights for fear that “something would happen to her” and turning to alcohol after medication had no effect on her well-being.

The court heard that Tissier had started working as a special constable for Essex Police and that in June 2021 he was deployed to assist at the G7 meeting of world leaders, including Boris Johnson, in Cornwall. He is said to be enjoying his role as an Essex Police officer.

His defense lawyer said: “Whilst every time a police officer is in the dock the public’s trust is called into question, this is not a situation in which he is exploiting his role to abuse the powers given to him.”

Judge Mary Loram KC said the victim had been “humiliated” by Tissier’s behavior in a desperate attempt to “get the approval of others.” She added that there was a “current environment with police officers and crimes like this.”

Sentencing Tissier, the judge said: “(The victim) was at your home and trusted you. She thought she would be safe there. She was asleep and you betrayed that trust. Every time a police officer like you commits a crime, especially one like this, you make life harder for all the decent, hard-working police officers who are just trying to do their job.

“They will be humiliated in public because of you. You have not abused the powers that come with this job, but this public humiliation of police must be an aggravating factor.”

Referring to the image shared with Tissier’s girlfriend, the judge added: “That image was therefore widely circulated and could have been widely circulated. She could have spent the rest of her life wondering who saw it. It’s a matter of luck that the recipient did the decent thing and deleted it – it had nothing to do with you.”

Jane Foster, from the CPS, said: “A major focus of the prosecution was the evidence recovered from Steven Tissier’s mobile phone, which showed he had shared evidence of his attack with two friends. These included WhatsApp messages and a photo sent while the victim was sleeping before the attack and video clips of the attack sent to another friend.

“This also revealed a Snapchat conversation he had with the victim a few days before the attack when he suggested ‘a threesome’, a suggestion which the victim rejected, showing that his sexual interest in her was not reciprocated . When he thought the victim had done it.” The sleeping Tissier acted on these feelings, even though there was no indication that the victim had consented to sexual activity with him, nor was he reasonably convinced that this was the case was.

Tissier, wearing a white shirt and cream trousers in the safety of the dock, loudly shouted “I love you” to his family in the public gallery as he was taken to the cells. He was sentenced to a total of four years in prison, including 18 months concurrent on count two (sexual assault) and 12 months concurrent on count three (voyeurism).

He was previously found to have breached standards of professional conduct and committed gross misconduct in unrelated matters at an expedited pre-trial misconduct hearing. He resigned before the hearing. The hearing, led by Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, heard he would have been summarily dismissed had he still been on duty.

He has also been placed on the College of Policing Barred Register to ensure he cannot re-join policing in any capacity. Chief Constable Harrington said: “I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of the victim in this case for coming forward and telling us what happened. “No one should have to experience what she went through and she has continued throughout the investigation and demonstrated great integrity and dignity throughout the trial.

“I, like everyone else at Essex Police, am outraged by the actions of Steven Tissier. Tissier’s criminal behavior and gross misconduct undermines the commitment of the people at Essex Police who work tirelessly every day to protect and serve the people of Essex.”

“There is no place for people like Steven Tissier in police work and his actions do not represent the vast majority of good officers and employees in the police force. I hope that Essex Police’s investigation, successful prosecution and his immediate dismissal will reassure the public that we will uphold our integrity and the trust of the people of Essex with the utmost regard and that we will act quickly and decisively to deal with this those whose actions undermine that trust.”

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