Former Gwent police officer jailed for domestic violence

A former Gwent police officer has today been jailed for domestic violence.

Huw Orphan received a sentence of two years and six months at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday for causing grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm. He was found guilty of these offences following a trial in September.

A gross misconduct hearing was held in public on 11 October which found that Orphan had breached the professional standards relating to discreditable conduct and had he not resigned prior to the hearing that he would have been dismissed.

The criminal investigation and subsequent misconduct investigation was carried out by Gwent Police.

T/Chief Constable Mark Hobrough said: "Former officer Huw Orphan was convicted of these horrific crimes by a jury and has been dismissed from our service due to his disgraceful actions.

"My thoughts go out to the victim in this case who has shown tremendous courage in coming forward. There is no place in our organisation or in our communities for perpetrators of domestic violence and these actions do not represent the values of the vast majority of our hard working and committed staff, many of whom work tirelessly to prevent and detect serious offences like these.

“I know this case will have had a detrimental impact on the trust and confidence that victims of domestic abuse feel in coming forward to report to us. I want anyone considering doing so to know that we remain dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic abuse and bringing offenders to justice for these awful crimes.

“I would urge anyone who is suffering abuse to please get in touch with the police or another support service. Please don’t suffer in silence."

Following the misconduct hearing earlier this month, Orphan was also placed on the College of Policing’s barred list which prohibits him from serving as a police officer.