A police officer from Sussex, England has been sacked after being caught engaging in a side hustle unbecoming for a man of the law.
Detective Constable Richard Holder was let go from job this week after a disciplinary committee determined he had engaged in “gross misconduct.”
His crime?
Using his sick days to moonlight as a male prostitute.
How about we take this to the next level?
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The Mirror reports:
Chief Constable Giles York told the hearing at force headquarters in Lewes, East Sussex, that Holder had advertised on a website called AdultWork using a “Sweet Sensations” account and was accepting payment for sexual encounters at his home while he was off duty and on sick leave.
York said it wasn’t the actual prostituting that got Holder fired, but rather how it affected his performance as a detective. York accused Holder of a “pattern of disruptive behavior that has been on the verge of criminal at times” and says he struggled with “under performance.”
“He seems to have never been an officer with any great glory about him,” York said.
Perhaps his “great glory” lies elsewhere?
Related: Cop who once led sting operations targeting gay men busted for engaging in pervy behavior
Police Federation chairman Matt Webb, who represented Holder in the hearing, said the ex-officer was very apologetic, telling the committee, “He asked me to express his apologies for his lack of judgment.”
Amazingly, Holder is the second Sussex Police officer to have been discovered moonlighting as a prostitute in less than two years.
In 2016, constable Daniel Moss was let go for doing sex work while he was on sick leave. And in in 2015, Inspector Lee Lyons was fired after admitting he contacted prostitutes he met while on duty.
ChrisK
Oh noes. A guy moonlighted to make a little extra money and it affected his job performance. Which I doubt. Big whoop.
Btw. prostitution in the UK is completely legal. Only in the prudish US do people still get their panties in a Twist over it
Cylest Brooks
Meh. I’d say it’s like 70/30 Power/Prudishness. Maybe 80/20.
JJinAus
Read the article, he was doing on sick leave. IOW, being paid by the state.
Troyfight
….feels like there is a lot more to this story. ….anybody find a picture of this officer?
Kangol
As Chris K says, in the UK, it’s legal to engage in sex work that is not coerced, is consensual, is not contracted through a pimp, and is with a person older than 18. Moonlighting to make extra money shouldn’t be a crime, and apparently wasn’t for this police force. So I don’t see where the “gross misconduct” came in. Maybe there’s more than is being shared here or in the original Mirror article?
JK 1984
My guess is one of two things:
1. It was propositioning while using sick leave that was the gross misconduct. I.e. misusing sick leave provisions and therefore putting more pressure on other officers to pick up the slack when he wasn’t really sick.
OR
(This is based on my experience in the Navy, which had similar rules)
2. Either they aren’t allowed to get a side job at all to stop any chance of there being a percieved conflict of interest or he didn’t follow the right process to get said job approved. In the Navy we were supposed to (but usually didn’t) get permission from our CO before taking any non-military side-job.
KiwiJello
It’s his body to sell. I would sell mine, but no one want it 😛
genericbrand
Am I the only one that giggled like a 7-year old when I thought he might have gone by Dick Holder?
galileo
Nope! If I was the Queerty sub-ed I’d have used:
“Dick Holder let go after sick leave shenanigans!”
PinkoOfTheGange
Using sick leave for your side gig is just wrong. Talk about double dipping.
crowebobby
In Germany, you can’t work during your vacation.
Billy Budd
They must have low salaries. I would not fire them.
galileo
You’re looking at between $45,000 to $80,000 depending on experience and location for a Detective Constable. Seems quite reasonable to me.
am
@galileo Not true. “The starting salary for police constables in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is between £19,971 and £23,124 per annum, rising to £38,382 at the top of the scale – achievable after about seven years. In Scotland starting salaries are slightly higher at £24,204 per annum, rising to £38,001 after about ten years’ service.” On the lowest level it makes roughly £1 600 a month. I dunno if you can live decently on that money in a city.
DCguy
Sounds like Sussex needs to pay it’s police more.
Goforit
Pictures, we want pictures. Please!
seaguy
At least he has the escorting to get by with.
Paulie P
The soldiers in Brazil supplement their income by doing the same thing…. big deal….
hansniemeijer
A) Public servants in the UK have to deal with salary caps and can’t keep with inflation B) There is not enough job satisfaction C) or both!!!
chris33133
I guess this is one story without a happy ending.
neelykasavrett
You are right. Strange website