A DOUBLE rapist, a man who strangled his lover to death and a boyfriend who attacked his heavily pregnant girlfriend – all heinous crimes – but most shocking of all is that the perpetrators were the very people supposed to protect us – police officers.
Now it has emerged that a sergeant at the same force has been promoted to the rank of inspector – after being found guilty of making vile sexist statements, such as telling a female colleague he wished she were his mum so he could suck her breasts.
A whistleblower has come forward to expose vile behaviour at another police force[/caption]
While a 2022 inquiry into the Metropolitan Police found misogyny and discrimination was rife there, a whistleblower has now come forward alleging another force is even worse.
The whistleblower, who has bravely spoken out to The Sun, says that despite its small size, Dorset Police is the “worst” in the country, where hateful language is the norm and serving officers have committed horrifying, violent acts against women.
They pointed to one colleague – Stephen Hughes of Dorset Police – who admitted to making sexist comments to female colleagues.
Hughes, then a sergeant, was found guilty of misconduct at a police disciplinary hearing in March 2018.
Shockingly, despite his vile comments, he has since been promoted to the rank of inspector amid claims of bullying and sexism across his force.
He admitted to a conversation with a female police officer, who was under his command at Dorchester police station, when he asked her to make the tea. When she asked him why, he replied: “Well, you’ve got the t**s.”
Hughes also confessed to making an offensive comment about breastfeeding to a second female officer, who was mum to a young child, telling her he wished she were his mother so he could “suck on her breasts”.
Another 31 allegations of acting in a demeaning way to a further four female officers were not proven.
Sgt Hughes was found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour for police officers, but was let off with a written warning.
The whistleblower said other officers were shocked at his promotion, with most believing he should have been sacked.
They told The Sun: “He is still working for Dorset Police and has since been promoted to Inspector and is now a Force Incident Manager.
“He should have been sacked, which is the view of many officers in Dorset Police.”
The whistleblower – a serving police officer – contacted The Sun anonymously[/caption]
They believe Dorset is the ‘worst police force’ given its track record of misogyny and officers committing high-profile crimes against women[/caption]
When contacted by The Sun, Dorset Police said that Hughes’s appointment to the rank of Inspector had been made in a “fair, open and transparent process”.
A spokesperson said: “Following a full public misconduct hearing, the panel delivered a sanction, which was completed and adhered to.
“As in all promotion processes, officers and staff take part in a fair, open and transparent process.”
But according to the whistleblower, Hughes’s case is not isolated, with female officers being forced to deal with disgusting treatment and offensive language on a daily basis – while police chiefs turn a blind eye.
The whistleblower, a serving police officer, felt compelled to come forward to expose what they call a culture of bullying within Dorset Police where officers are said to use hate-filled language against women, gay people and disabled people on a daily basis – both to people’s faces and in WhatsApp groups.
It comes after three police officers from Dorset were charged with serious crimes including rape, manslaughter and a violent attack on a pregnant woman.
‘Culture of misogyny’
The whistleblower said: “We know there has been allegations of misogyny within the Met Police – but Dorset Police has its own problems, including not sacking misogynistic officers who are found guilty of sexual harassment in the workplace.
“When it comes to the culture of misogyny within Dorset Police, many internal incidents often go unreported in the media.
“However, there have been several high-profile cases of major crimes against women committed by serving officers in the force. Some are very recent.
“When reporting this behaviour it never seems to stop the overall problem or change the culture.
Whistleblower
“It is a daily occurrence of officers at Dorset Police using misogynistic language or other hate language (e.g. sexist, homophobic, ageist, disabled, etc) either in person or in WhatsApp groups.
“When reporting this behaviour, it never seems to stop the overall problem or change the culture.
“The force executive team should face an investigation for not doing enough.”
While statistics on internal complaints are not always made public, a Freedom of Information request found Dorset Police had 135 cases where an employee was found to have a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct between January 2021 and January 2025.
A Home Office report in 2024 found that in police forces across the country, there were 4,282 internal allegations of misconduct or gross misconduct.
However, the stats do not tell the full story, with one academic study from Birmingham in 2024 stating that most incidents of sexual harassment are not reported due to a “blue code of silence” and a “fear of retaliation or not being believed”.
It is estimated that incidents may go unreported as much as 50 per cent of the time.
PC Ravi Canhye, a serving Dorset Police officer, sexually assaulted two women[/caption]
Prosecutors described his as behaving ‘like an animal’ during the attacks[/caption]
Inspector Billy Bulloch of Dorset Police was found guilty of gross misconduct for having sex with members of the public while on duty[/caption]
Certainly, at Dorset, the whistleblower believes many officers do not report incidents – or if they do, “nothing ever changes”.
They allege that some who do complain are then “helped” to leave the force in cost-cutting exercises.
The whistleblower said they believe Dorset to be the “worst” force in Britain in terms of misogynistic behaviour – with three major cases of rape, manslaughter and domestic violence committed by serving officers.
They also pointed to an influx of officers transferring from the Met, lured by Dorset’s picturesque scenery.
The whistleblower said: “I would say it is the worst when considering the major crimes committed by male police officers with female victims, vile/hateful language against women, and also against disabled people.
“It is a daily occurrence of officers at Dorset Police using misogynistic language or other hate language either in person or in WhatsApp groups.
Whistleblower
“To be blunt, there are a lot of officers who should not be officers. The executive team should be replaced.
“Because Dorset is a beautiful county, we get a lot of transferees from the Met. They often bring their own set of problems, including misogyny vile/hateful language etc, which is also rife within the Met.
“In terms of staff who are not police officers, I know of a male manager who faced complaints of sexual harassment and bullying.
“The female complainants were then offered resignation through Project Evolve (a force cost-cutting programme). They left the force.
“The male manager is still employed by Dorset Police. In other words, they misused Project Evolve to hide bad behaviour.
Double rape
The three most horrific cases involving Dorset Police officers over the past few years include that of Officer Ravi Canhye, who had served on the force for 20 years.
Canhye was jailed for raping and sexually assaulting two women in 2023 in horrific attacks where prosecutors accused him of acting “like an animal”.
Canhye slapped and mauled his victim before pinning her down and raping her, leaving her battered and bruised and suffering nightmares and flashbacks, Winchester Crown Court heard.
PC Timothy Brehmer was found guilty of killing his lover[/caption]
Nurse Claire Parry was killed by Brehmer after she revealed their affair to his wife[/caption]
Brehmer was jailed for 10-and-a-half years at Salisbury Crown Court[/caption]
He was convicted of two counts of rape, one count of attempted rape, three counts of assaults by penetration and sexual assault and jailed for 16-and-a-half years.
Strangled his lover
In 2020, PC Timothy Brehmer, a married police officer at Dorset Police, strangled his lover, nurse Claire Parry, 41, the wife of another police officer, after she exposed their affair.
He was jailed for 13-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to her manslaughter.
In the trial, another woman he had an affair with – Det. Con. Kate Rhodes said Brehmer was a womaniser who used “grooming” techniques to exert “coercive and controlling behaviour” over women.
‘Savage attack’
Police officer Matthew Cherry was jailed for repeatedly punching his girlfriend, a fellow Dorset Police officer, in her pregnant belly in a bid to force a miscarriage because he didn’t want her to have his baby, back in 2012.
Caroline Craft answered the door of her flat when she was six months pregnant, and Cherry, wearing a balaclava and using a fake foreign accent, carried out a “savage attack” on her, leaving her “bloody and bruised”, jurors at Winchester Crown Court heard.
Remarkably, Caroline gave birth to a healthy baby boy despite the attack. Cherry was jailed for 10 years.
Another officer at Dorset, Inspector Billy Bulloch, was found guilty of gross misconduct after a panel in 2020 found he abused his position to have sex with colleagues and members of the public in uniform. He would have been dismissed but had already resigned.
Vile WhatsApp messages
In January, six Dorset Police officers who were part of a team to tackle country line drugs operations and help safeguard victims of “cuckooing” – where someone’s house is taken over for criminal activity such as drug dealing or sex work – faced disciplinary action over messages in a vile WhatsApp group.
One of the six, PC Matthew Williamson, was found to have posed with a sex toy found in a vulnerable woman’s home, with the photo being shared in the WhatsApp group.
Other officers described members of the public as “pikeys”, “fatties” and in one message said: “He’s probably ‘disabled’ too”.
Dorset cop Matthew Cherry repeatedly punched his pregnant ex-girlfriend to try to bring on a miscarriage[/caption]
PC Michael Lowther (left) and PC Paul Perdrisat were members of a ‘toxic’ police unit waged a three year bullying campaign against fellow officers[/caption]
Speaking about the case, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there were “several thousand pages of messages”.
David Ford, the IOPC’s regional director said: “Some of the messages shared within the group were wholly inappropriate, unprofessional and discriminatory, and we found there was an absence of proper challenge or reporting among officers involved.
“The attitudes revealed in some of these messages are completely unacceptable and have no place in policing.”
One of the six officers – PC Mark Philpotts – was sacked after being found guilty of gross misconduct after using a derogatory term about two women.
Williamson, Sgt Timothy Borrill and PC Daniel Moore resigned over the allegations but the disciplinary panel stated they would have been dismissed if they had not already left.
‘Officer considered suicide’
Back in 2023, five officers were accused of bullying a colleague to the point they considered suicide and posting misogynistic, racist homophobic, bullying and pornographic content to a toxic Whatsapp group called “The Real FSG” (force support group).
After a disciplinary hearing, PC Mark Jordan-Gill and former officer Paul Perdrisat were barred from policing, while Inspector Nicholas Mantle was found guilty of gross misconduct and dismissed.
Two other officers in the group PC Michael Lowther and PC Matthew Young were found guilty of misconduct.
PC Lowther was handed a written warning after the panel found he challenged the behaviour on the WhatsApp group and left, while Young was issued with a final written warning.
Dorset Police blasted the behaviour at the time saying they were “disappointed and appalled”.
Police respond
The Sun reached out to Dorset Police for comment on the whistleblower’s allegations.
Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell, of Dorset Police, said: “Members of the public should quite rightly have the confidence that police officers and staff will attain the highest personal and professional standards and when these standards fall below expectations, we will ensure swift and robust action is taken. This is demonstrated through the public misconduct hearings that are held in Force.
“Any allegations of behaviour that do not meet the expected standards are rigorously investigated in accordance with the relevant Police Conduct Regulations, and we will do all we can to support those who speak out.
“Our Call It Out behaviours campaign reminds everyone working within Dorset Police of their obligation to call out poor or unacceptable behaviour and the ways in which they can do so, including an anonymous reporting line.”
“Anyone who may have concerns, is asked to report it to us via 101, [email protected], online at www.dorset.police.uk/contact/report-police-corruption/, via the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) or anonymously via the Crimestoppers.”
It comes as The Sun revealed last month that nine officers at the Met Police in central London have been suspended over allegations of racist, homophobic and misogynist behaviour.
A previous separate investigation at the same police station – Charing Cross police in central London – was launched in 2018 into “disgraceful” messages exchanged between cops in which 14 officers were investigated and two dismissed.
At the time, the Independent Office for Police Conduct made 15 recommendations to stop anything similar happening again.
Met boss Sir Mark ordered the crackdown after a 2023 report by Baroness Casey into the force’s culture following the rape and murder of Sarah Everard.
Baroness Casey concluded the Met was institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynist – a claim denied by Sir Mark.
