PSNI's Creswell exposure allegation inquiry 'inadequate'
A Police Ombudsman report concludes that the PSNI failed to properly investigate a 2015 indecent exposure complaint against Jonathan Creswell. The investigation was deemed inadequate due to poor evidence collection and inaccurate reporting to prosecutors.
Why it matters
This highlights systemic failures in police investigations of sexual misconduct and the consequences of failing to act on early warning signs of violent offenders.
Police who investigated a suspected killer for indecent exposure, years before he was accused of murdering a young woman, ran an "inadequate" investigation, a report has found.
Showjumper Jonathan Creswell was found dead on the second day of his trial for the 2020 rape and murder of Katie Simpson - his partner's sister - whom he had groomed from a young age.
Years earlier, he had been reported to police after allegedly exposing himself to a woman in a stable yard in October 2015.
The woman complained to the Police Ombudsman's office over how police had handled her complaint.
The ombudsman's office found the complainant had been "failed" both "as a woman and as a victim" by the PSNI.
Its investigation found a number of shortcomings in the PSNI case management.
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