Paul Nightingale, 40, groped constable Lisa Myers (pictured), 38, at their work meal out in Liverpool
A sex pest police inspector who faces paying a female colleague up to £25,000 for groping and harassing her was accused of drunkenly targeting four other women at a staff Christmas party.
Paul Nightingale, 40, had fronted a festive publicity campaign highlighting how his officers were ‘incredibly busy’ at that time of year dealing with the consequences of ‘alcohol-fuelled antisocial behaviour’.
But the married father-of-two groped constable Lisa Myers, 38, at their works meal out during an escalating 12-month campaign of sexual harassment which culminated in sticking his hand down her top and fondling her breast as she sat at her desk.
As he faces giving her a hefty pay-out after a tribunal judge rejected his account that she had not made clear his attention was unwanted, it emerged he had been accused of rape while serving at his previous force.
The tribunal heard how three officers from British Transport Police branded Mr Nightingale a ‘creep’ during an internal investigation over his ‘sleazy’ behaviour at the December 2015 bash in Liverpool.
Mrs Myers told the tribunal how her boss groped her bottom at the event and said he would like sex with her in the back of a car.
A 24-year-old community support officer said a ‘slurring and swaying’ Mr Nightingale asked how old she was, groped her bottom and suggested that ‘if she wanted to have sex with him she could’ and that he could ‘show her a thing or two that no other 24-year-old boy could’.
Nightingale, 40, had fronted a festive publicity campaign (pictured) highlighting how his officers were ‘incredibly busy’ at that time of year dealing with the consequences of ‘alcohol-fuelled antisocial behaviour’
She told investigators from BTP’s professional standards team that both she and Mrs Myers had considered him a ‘creep’.
And the tribunal was shown a Facebook message that a male constable sent her during the party: ‘Ha ha ha getting chatted up by the inspector!! Creep! Lol x’
The tribunal heard that he was also flirting with a colleague’s wife and draping his arms over two other women who were not part of the group.
Seeing Mr Nightingale drunkenly flirting with so many different women at the party, a male constable commented that their boss ‘should not be cheating as his wife was really attractive’.
Mr Nightingale also groped Mrs Myers on several other occasions, kissed her neck and once stuck his hand down her top and fondled her breasts ‘with a vacant look in his eyes’.
He demanded massages, ‘alone time’, a ‘birthday kiss’ and sent her a text message reading: ‘Nice a***’.
A hearing is due to take place today ((MON)) to decide how much compensation he must pay her after a tribunal upheld Mrs Myers’ sexual harassment claim.
But the married father-of-two groped constable Lisa Myers (pictured), 38, at their works meal out during an escalating 12-month campaign of sexual harassment which culminated in sticking his hand down her top and fondling her breast as she sat at her desk
Employment judge Tobias Ryan said: ‘His assertion that they were in a relationship and that she encouraged it were without doubt detrimental to her career and her reputation.’
He added that after being informally warned about his conduct ‘he knew that his attentions were unwelcome but he believed he could win her round and he believed she would not complain’.
Speaking after the judgment, mother-of-two Mrs Myers said: ‘I am very happy that my ordeal is over and that I have had a successful outcome.
‘I hope this will give heart and encouragement to other women who have suffered sexual harassment so that they are able to obtain justice.
‘But it has been emotional to have to go through a tribunal hearing and I am disappointed that the Police Federation represented Mr Nightingale.’
She added: ‘I find it staggering that fees paid by other hardworking officers around the country are being used to fund this sort of case.
‘I think serving officers will be outraged when they know what their fees are being used to pay for.’
At the time of the incidents Mr Nightingale was a sergeant but was acting in the role of inspector at based at Liverpool Lime Street station.
In a British Transport Police publicity campaign he said that Christmas was an ‘incredibly busy’ time for officers dealing with binge drinking party-goers.
Mrs Myers told last week’s tribunal that Mr Nightingale started stroking her shoulders, neck and hair in the summer of 2015.
She said: ‘On each occasion, I turned my chair around, told the respondent to stop and made it clear to him that his conduct was unacceptable.’
She did not formally complain as she was worried about the ‘repercussions’ of accusing a senior officer of harassment but did inform a colleague which resulted in Mr Nightingale being told she wasn’t interested in him.
But at a Christmas party that year she said he was ‘whispering into my ear throughout the meal and making sexual comments’ before squeezing her bottom when the group went for a drink.
An internal investigation later found he had targeted up to four other women at the event including a PCSO who recalled ‘his eyes were bloodshot, he was slurring his words and he was swaying’.
The following month after she had completed a first aid course she said Mr Nightingale ‘threw himself on the floor and said: ‘I need mouth to mouth resuscitation’ leaving her feeling ‘very uncomfortable and embarrassed’.
She said he stroked her neck and face again during a night shift in April 2016 then despite her saying ‘No Paul’ placed his hand inside her shirt and stroked the top of her breast.’
The following month she said Mr Nightingale cornered her in the mess room saying ‘We haven’t had any alone time for a while’ before pressing his body against hers.
He later sent he a phone message about her ‘Nice a***’ and the next day approached her saying he wanted a ‘birthday kiss’.
Mrs Myers finally made a formal complaint and was moved to a different office 20 miles away. As a result, she quit the force in disgust in January 2017 after 12 years of service.
She told the tribunal: ‘I loved my job and it was a very sad and distressing occasion when I felt that I had to leave.’
She said his actions had ‘ruined my career and blighted my life’.
It can now be revealed that he was accused of rape in 2002 by a female member of the public while he was a sergeant with Cambridgeshire Constabulary, based in Peterborough.
The force said yesterday that the allegation – which Mr Nightingale told investigators involved consensual sex with the woman while off duty – had been ‘unsubstantiated’.
Mr Nightingale quit the British Transport Police before facing gross misconduct proceedings over Mrs Myers’ claims.
Its report concluded he ‘holds a high opinion of himself in respect of him being attractive to women’ and displays ‘inappropriate sexual behaviour’ towards women when under the influence of alcohol.
The force later settled her tribunal claim against them for sex discrimination and victimisation for an undisclosed sum believed to be in the region of £50,000.
He is now branch manager of a DIY store having been added to a register of people ineligible to work for the police again.
His wife Rebecca, 34, who runs a cake design business and was crowned the best-dressed racegoer on Ladies’ Day at the 2014 Grand National, is understood to be standing by him and accompanied him to the tribunal.
On Friday Judge Ryan concluded that while his actions before being warned over his conduct had not amounted to deliberate harassment, his behaviour thereafter ‘created a hostile and degrading environment’ and that he ‘knew full well he was taking advantage’
Mrs Myers will be awarded compensation of up to £25,000 for injury to feelings and aggravated damages at a remedy hearing today.