Adnan Ali 37

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A court was told how Adnan Ali used the cadet training scheme as a 'grooming playground'.

A former Greater Manchester Police constable has been found guilty of five sexual assaults on young men and women.

Adnan Ali, who ran a large cadet unit for the force, used the training scheme as a 'grooming playground' and 'exploited the freedom he was given', a court was told previously. The 36-year-old father-of-one went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court, where he denied twenty charges including sexually assaulting two teenage girls and a 17-year-old boy, and misconduct in public office involving sexualised conversations.

However, today (April 24), he was found guilty of five counts of sexual assault and 15 counts of misconduct in a public office. The charges relate to incidents, between 2015 and 2018, involving young men and women enrolled on the scheme.

During the three week trial, the court heard how Ali, of Leighton Road, Old Trafford, sexually assaulted two teenage girls and a 17-year-old boy. The misconduct charges involved allegations of sexualised conversations with six other teenage boys and asking for and sending indecent images to some of them.

Ali, known as Adz, became police leader of Trafford cadets in 2013 after suffering post traumatic stress disorder after a serious knife injury while on duty. He was based in Stretford and the cadet unit rapidly grew to about 130 cadets, the largest group in Greater Manchester. While he was head of the unit they won local and national awards which enhanced his reputation.

Prosecuting counsel, Anne Whyte, KC, has claimed that he 'threw out the rule book' and engaged in conduct and communications with cadets and apprentices which breached the boundaries he was supposed to enforce. Ali was arrested in October 2018 after the force received a complaint that he had been 'behaving inappropriately' towards a 16-year-old boy.

His devices were seized and analysed and officers found thousands of messages and identified more victims. Charges were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service in July 2021.

In April 2022, Ali was dismissed from GMP and barred from policing at a gross misconduct hearing. The force will now make representations to that Deputy Mayor that he should have to forfeit his pension.

Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane said: "Whilst Ali is responsible for committing these crimes, no one should be subjected to crime or misconduct during their contact with police officers and staff, like these young people were – for that, and in acknowledgement that Ali could have been better supervised and managed, we are sorry.

“My thanks go to the victims and witnesses who bravely supported the prosecution which secured today’s verdict. Though trials are a fundamental part of the criminal justice system, the impact they can have on those involved and with whom cases resonate is not underestimated. We will ensure they are supported for as long as they need.

"Alongside the criminal and misconduct investigations, this case initiated a full review of GMP’s Volunteer Police Cadet Scheme. With national oversight, improvements have been and are continuing to be implemented to ensure cadet leaders are the role models they are expected to be and that they do not pose a risk to anyone."

Head of GMP’s Professional Standards Branch, Chief Superintendent Mike Allen, said: "Today’s verdict will do nothing to ease the public’s concerns about police misconduct. However, Ali represents the very worst and the minority in policing - he is among a very small percentage who discredit the police service and undermine trust and confidence in it.

"These individuals are being rooted and booted out by exemplary colleagues reporting their behaviour, investigating allegations, building cases against them, and playing a crucial role in proceedings to ensure they face the full force of the criminal justice system and have the many privileges of working in policing taken from them.

"Ali represents the very worst and the minority in policing"
“Following national direction to all forces, the Force Vetting Unit is currently re-vetting all GMP officers and staff to ensure those who are wearing the force uniform and that those who have applied to do so are fit to serve the public.

"However, efforts don’t stop there. Whilst the assessment teams review complaints and allegations, the investigation teams and misconduct proceedings unit work together to secure the best criminal and misconduct outcomes, as a covert unit work under cover in amongst the workforce to stop corrupt officers and staff in their tracks.

"Though ensuring all employees behave with the highest standards of professional behaviour won’t be completed overnight, the people of Greater Manchester, the thousands of exemplary GMP officers and staff, and the force’s trusting stakeholders have my guarantee that, with my oversight of Professional Standards, the branch will do everything in its power to ensure the Code of Ethics is upheld to protect public trust and confidence in our ability to deliver outstanding service."

Ali will be sentenced at a later date.