Police officer sentenced to 15 months for misconduct in public office

A serving Hertfordshire police officer has been sentenced to 15 months after pleading guilty to misconduct in public office.

The charge relates to an inappropriate relationship PC Nicholas Musto had with a vulnerable victim of crime he came in contact with via his operational police work.

The matter was investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following a voluntary referral from Hertfordshire Constabulary in October 2018.

During the investigation it emerged that PC Musto, who has 25 years’ service with the force, had lied about the nature of his relationship with the victim when concerns were previously investigated in 2013.

Assistant Chief Constable Bill Jephson said: ‘This has been a distressing matter in which a vulnerable victim of crime has been abused in the most appalling manner by someone in a position of trust.

‘As a force, we expect the highest standards of conduct and will always take action when those standards are not met.

‘In this case PC Musto not only betrayed the trust of his victim, his predatory behaviour has had a damaging impact on public confidence in policing which is totally unacceptable.’

Now that the matter has been dealt with at court, PC Musto will face a special case hearing.

PC Musto was initially sentenced to 18 months on Friday 17 July but this was reduced to 15 months due to his early guilty plea.