Who is David Lovell and why was he fired from the police force?
DAVID Lovell was sacked from the force following allegations of serious misconduct.
Here we look at why he was struck from the force and given a sexual risk order.
1
Who is David Lovell?
David Lovell, 46, is a former police officer from Weston-super-Mare who worked for the force Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
He was brought to justice by police detective Amber Redman Anti-Corruption Unit (CCU) after a series of serious allegations were made against him over more than a decade.
Lovell will appear in an episode of Channel 4'S To catch a buyer on February 12, 2024.
Why was David Lovell fired from the police force?
Lovell was accused of posting intimate photos of a woman online in 2021 – after sharing the photos of herself consensually with the police officer.
Investigators discovered that two of Lovell's other victims posted intimate photos of them on the website internet.
Although the women supported the misconduct lawsuit, they chose not to file a criminal complaint.
Redman of the CCU built the evidence case against Lovell and heard from female officers that he had been prolific in sending unsolicited indecent images of himself.
One said: “Dave sent every girl he came into contact with a picture of his penis.”
Another added: “It was a standing joke that if you were a woman and you didn't get a picture of Dave Lovell's penis there must be something wrong with you.”
Lovell's disciplinary file shows that by the time this investigation began, he had already been investigated five times.
In 2006 he received a verbal warning for sending inappropriate images, while in 2016 he received a written warning for making inappropriate comments.
Redman said Lovell's behavior was known about a decade ago but tolerated.
Although she believes policing is changing for the better, Redman explained: “Traditionally there was a subculture, old, entrenched ideas that could be misogynistic.
“There are clearly still some officers who have not abandoned this type of behavior and it is our job to find them, determine if they have done anything wrong and, if they have, root them out.”
Lovell was dismissed from Avon and Somerset Police in May 2023 and a sexual risk order was made against him. North Somerset Magistrates' Court on June 26 of the same year.
Supt Mark Edgington, head of professional standards at Avon and Somerset Police, said: “This former officer abused the trust placed in him by complainants in the most appalling ways.
“Due to the nature of the proven allegations, it is critical that we protect the public from his sexualized, predatory and exploitative behavior.
“The Sexual Risk Order will impose a range of strict and prohibitive measures on him, designed to prevent him from causing further harm or distress. Breach of the order is a criminal offense for which the maximum penalty upon conviction is five years' imprisonment.
“We take our responsibilities to protect the safety of the public very seriously and taking this action in this case was both necessary and proportionate.”
What is the sexual risk order made against David Lovell?
The sexual risk order lasts for seven years and imposes strict conditions on Lovell, including:
- No unsupervised contact with a child under 18, except in strict circumstances described in the order
- No employment establishment that could lead to unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18
- Restrictions on his use of computers and devices that access the Internet, including a ban on the use of false names
- Not inviting or soliciting people to provide/exchange sexual images of themselves with him or others
- Not owning a device that can store digital images, except in strict circumstances
- Sharing or distributing still or moving images of others in his possession, with a third party or in a public domain, without written permission
- He may not, at the request of the data subject, refuse or fail to remove any still/moving images of a person taken, produced, produced or in his possession by him and over which he has direct control.