A West Yorkshire Police officer, Jonathan Holmes, has been convicted of sexually abusing a lady in her residence.
Jonathan Holmes, 24, served as a police constable with West Yorkshire Police when he faced allegations of attempted rape and sexual assault. He has been convicted of one count of sexual assault and one count of obstructing justice. He was exonerated of attempted rape, one charge of sexual assault, and one charge of obstructing justice.
During the trial, jurors learnt that Holmes and the lady had already engaged in consensual sexual relations before to his assault on October 28, 2021. Jonathan Holmes, residing on Trenam Park Drive in Bradford, was informed by the woman that she did not wish for any events to transpire that day. Following the incident, it was reported that he performed a factory reset on his phone.
During his opening, prosecutor Jeremy Hill-Baker said: “She told him nothing sexual was going to happen and gave him her address.”
The court heard both the woman and Mr Jonathan Holmes took their tops off and got into bed, but after the woman told him she “wasn’t going to do anything” Mr Homes “persisted” and he “pinned her down and was on top of her”.
During the trial, jurors also heard a transcript of Jonathan Holmes interview with police following his arrest, during which he said the woman was “lying through the skin of her teeth”.
Jurors heard Jonathan Holmes was taken through messages between the woman and Holmes after the attack. She told him: “I don’t see how this can be taken out of context. There is only one way I perceive it to have happened. I don’t see how you can justify yourself in any way… I’m embarrassed I let it happen… I just want to delete you, just delete anything you have of me.”
She went on to say: “I don’t think working in law enforcement is for you. I thought you was a really nice lad until last night. I made it clear to begin with nothing was going to happen…”
In messages, she also said: “I told you no and to stop… you even said yourself, something along the lines of you’re a police officer so you know you shouldn’t but don’t know if you crossed the line. You literally pinned my arms down… There is nothing that you can say that will excuse how forceful you were with me last night.”
Jonathan Holmes told police in his interview he apologised for how his actions made her feel. The court heard he told officers the woman had been “teasing” him and “tickling” him and that she had initiated contact between them.
He told officers the woman was lying and said: “It’s annoying because my family and work will get the brunt of it and she’s lying through her teeth. Nothing will come of her doing that… She’s absolutely lying through her teeth.
“It’s not happened, she’s lying through the skin of her teeth. It’s disgusting. I have never been the person to have that sort of vile nature about me. She did it herself. I didn’t force her to do anything at all…
“She was definitely consenting. I just said ‘no’ and made excuses. I was baffled and I know these messages she’s sat down with someone to write them. It p* me off because she is lying, utterly lying.”
Jonathan Holmes will be sentenced on November 8 at Bradford Crown Court. A reporting restriction put in place prohibiting the publication of Holmes’ address while the trial was ongoing was lifted following an application by YorkshireLive.
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