Ex-police officer pestered his female tenant for 'no strings attached sex'

Terry Cooke was found guilty of a 'persistent' campaign of harassment against lodger Lin Eriksen that lasted for five months.

The former Hampshire Police officer agreed to rent a room to Ms Eriksen over Whatsapp but their messages 'took a more inappropriate turn' when Cooke began asking her questions about her body, the prosecution said.

Ms Eriksen initially responded to the messages because she was worried about 'upsetting the housing situation' but became more and more uncomfortable with them.

The ex cop, 49, would also speak to her in-person, asking if she 'got lucky' when she returned home from nights out, and in March 2023 he knocked on her bedroom door at around midnight.

He has now been handed a restraining order for the harassment - which started 18 months after he was kicked out of the police for misconduct.

Laura Jenking-Rees, prosecuting, told Portsmouth Magistrates' Court, Hants, Ms Eriksen had initially tried to rent the room in October 2022 with her partner but Cooke refused because they were a couple.

In November that year, now single, she contacted him again and moved into the room in Basingstoke, Hants, for £625 per month.

Ms Jenking-Rees said: "Ms Eriksen would have conversations [with Cooke] over Whatsapp.

"Those messages took a more inappropriate turn. "He began to ask for no strings attached sex, asked questions about her body and asked her numerous times to send him photos of herself.

"Most of the conversations were over Whatsapp but sometimes they were face to face.

"On March 1, 2023, at around midnight she was in bed when she heard Mr Cooke knocking on her door. "There was an inherent power imbalance."

At the sentencing hearing Ms Jenking-Rees also read from the evidence Ms Erisken gave at the trial in July.

"It always felt inappropriate how much he would speak to me.

"I was worried about upsetting the housing situation, I was worried he would end the tenancy.

"If I came home at night he would ask me if I got lucky, as time went on Terry's messages got worse.

"I would actively avoid him, I would stay in my room until I heard him go out.

"I felt uncomfortable, my home was supposed to be my safe space," Ms Eriksen said.

At the conclusion of the trial Cooke was found guilty of one charge of harrassment without violence.

Mitigating, Martin Kessler said Cooke was of 'good character' and had 'learnt his lesson' from the way he behaved.

"This is a man of previous good character," he said.

"He has learnt his lesson and the chances of this happening again are very slim indeed.

"He is unlikely to offend again."

Mr Kessler also argued that Cooke should not have to do unpaid work as part of his community order because his 'former occupation' as a police officer 'could cause some problems in organising [it]'.

Magistrates chairwoman Charlotte Carter described the 49 year old's behaviour as 'unsatisfactory'.

"It was persistent behaviour over a long period, it was very unsatisfactory behaviour," she said.

Cooke was sentenced to a 12 month community order with 25 rehabilitation days, a fine of £120, a victim surcharge of £114 and ordered to pay court costs of £650.

The landlord was also given a restraining order against Ms Eriksen for two years.

In April 2021 Cooke was sacked from his job as a PC with Hampshire Constabulary for using his position to pursue vulnerable women.

However, it took a year for details of the misconduct hearing to come to light following a legal campaign by the local newspaper, the Basingstoke Gazette.

Cooke claimed an anonymity order had been put in place to protect his identity but his solicitors later revealed there was no prohibition and his application for anonymity was rejected by the High Court.

He was dragged into the misconduct hearing after a complaint was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The hearing heard about three separate incidents where he had used personal information gathered as a police officer to chase young women.

These included pursuing a sexual relationship with a domestic violence victim he met when she called 999 for help.

After the callout he tracked the woman down on Facebook and messaged her, she responded saying he was 'naughty' for using police records to find her.

Another victim of domestic violence called the police when her ex-husband turned up at her home and started banging on her front door.

Cooke attended the incident and later sent the woman several friend requests and a 'wave' on Facebook but she did not respond.

He also asked the victim of a car crash on a date at the scene of the accident and called her friend the next day to repeat the offer.

The misconduct panel at the time said his behaviour was 'troubling' and he had 'systematically abused' his position.

The panel said: "The proven conduct reveals a pattern of troubling behaviour on the part of the officer which we consider to be extremely serious misconduct.

"The officer came into contact with all these women in the course of his work as a police officer.

"He obtained their personal details and data in the course of his employment.

"He then systematically abused it for his own private purposes."

Prior to his dismissal he had served as a police officer for 20 years.