Former police officer sentenced for misconduct

 A former Devon and Cornwall Police officer has been sentenced for forming an inappropriate relationship with a woman he met while on duty.

Martyn Newitt, 39, from Liskeard, Cornwall, admitted misconduct in a public office and causing a computer to perform a function with intent to secure unauthorised access to a programme data, the court heard.

He was sentenced to a 12-month prison term, suspended for 12 months, following a hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Friday.

The judge also ordered Newitt to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity days within the next 12 months.

The court was told Newitt had been a temporary police sergeant when he was called to attend the home of a woman following an incident involving her former partner in May 2020.

Newitt, now a married father-of-two, initially exchanged professional messages with the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, on his police phone.

He then created a social media account under the name Nick Nicholson which he used to exchange sexual messages with the woman, the court was told.

Newitt also looked up a police log regarding an allegation of rape the woman had made against a different person.

The woman made a complaint about Newitt after being stopped by officers due to an issue with her vehicle in December 2021, leading to Newitt being suspended and he resigned three years later.

'Fall from grace'

Judge Michael Cullum said: "It is always sad to see a man of good character come before the criminal courts to be sentenced, particularly when having been a serving public official and police officer that fall from grace is higher.

"The references show that you were a good officer, rising to be a sergeant.

"You threw that away when, in a period of weakness and stress in your personal life, you pursued an inappropriate relationship with a member of the public."

'I trusted him'

In a victim personal statement read to the court, the woman said: "I was scared, isolated and vulnerable.

"Martyn arrived in uniform to help and I trusted him. He was supposed to protect us. Instead, he embedded himself in my life and became Nick.

"I am grieving a man that never existed. Nick wasn't just his name. It was his carefully crafted persona."

Newitt said he had been in a "very difficult place" at the time.

"Up until that point, my record as a police officer was untarnished," he said.

"I have let the public down by putting myself in this position.

"I am eternally sorry for that."

My view

EXACTLY what I’ve been saying for years. This is the perfect example of how the so-called justice system protects its own. A former police officer gets done for misconduct—serious stuff, not just a slap on the wrist kind of offense—and what happens? A suspended sentence. No jail time. No real consequences. Just a legal pat on the back and sent on their way. It's beyond maddening.

Why is it always like this when it's someone in uniform? If it were me—or you—or any regular person off the street—we’d be inside before we could even blink. But if you’ve worn a badge? Suddenly you get “understanding” from the courts. You get sympathy. You get second chances. It’s disgusting. There’s one justice system for them and a completely different, unforgiving one for the rest of us. That double standard isn't just frustrating—it's dangerous.

What kind of message does this send? That if you’ve served as a cop, you can break the law and still walk free? That misconduct, abuse of power, and betrayal of public trust are somehow less serious when it's done by someone who took an oath to uphold the law? It makes me sick.

People are losing faith. Completely. Why should we trust the police? Why should we believe in the courts? This isn’t justice—it’s a performance. It's a rigged game where those on the inside look after each other, and the rest of us are left shouting into the void, unheard, unseen.

It genuinely pisses me off. I’m tired of watching these stories pop up again and again, always ending the same way. Officer commits a crime. Gets a slap on the wrist. Walks free. Nothing changes. Nothing improves. Victims get silence, and the public gets lies.

This system is broken. It’s been broken for a long time. And every time a uniformed abuser gets off lightly, another crack forms in whatever is left of public trust. We deserve better. Victims deserve better. And if you ask me, the people in power know damn well what they’re doing—they just don’t care.

Enough is enough.