A serving Dorset Police officer has been found guilty of sexual offences including two counts of rape.
Following an eight-day trial at Winchester Crown Court, Police Constable Ravi Canhye was convicted on Wednesday 4 October 2023. The jury found him guilty of eight sexual offences – two rapes, one attempted rape, three assaults by penetration against one woman and one assault by touching against a second woman. Both women were known to him.
All eight offences Canhye was found guilty of happened during a weekend in April 2022. He was not on duty at the time.
On Thursday 5 October 2023, the 47-year-old police officer will return to the same court to be sentenced.
Dorset Police Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said: “I would like to thank the victims for their courage to come forward to report these abhorrent crimes to us and supporting our investigation as well as the strength they have shown throughout the court process.
“I hope this sends a message to all victims of sexual abuse that we will do all we can to investigate offences and ensure offenders are brought to justice, while we will also make sure victims are supported.
“We have been able to bring this case before the court due to the thorough investigation conducted by our highly-trained detectives and I would like to recognise their work as well as the support our specialist officers provided to the victims.
“PC Canhye has behaved in a way that is clearly criminal and utterly unacceptable, especially when bearing in mind the trust the public should be able to have in him as a member of the police service.
“There is no place in Dorset Police for those who commit sexual offences. I understand that these crimes will cause concern for our community and the fact that they were committed by a police officer is even more abhorrent. We are determined to root out officers who commit such offences as well as domestic abuse or show discriminatory, abusive or misogynistic behaviours.
“I hope that responding robustly to allegations of any violence against women by police officers or staff sends a strong message to the public about our standards and values and builds confidence in how we respond to all allegations. Our unique powers and responsibilities mean we must hold ourselves to the highest standards.
“I would urge anyone who has been the victim of a sexual assault to please come forward and report it to us. We always ensure victims are supported by specially-trained officers and will do everything in our power to identify those responsible and hold them to account.
“Police Constable Ravi Canhye was immediately suspended at the time the allegations were made and has remained suspended throughout the investigation. He will now be subject to misconduct proceedings.”
If you have been a victim of rape or sexual assault, and you want to report directly to the police, please call 101 and ask to be put in contact with a specially-trained police officer. Always dial 999 in an emergency. Alternatively, you can contact The Shores Sexual Assault Referral Centre on 0800 970 9954.
If you have any concerns in respect of any member of the organisation, please come forward and tell us what you know. Anyone can report any concerns to Dorset Police by calling 101 or emailing [email protected]. Corruption can also be reported online at www.dorset.police.uk/contact/report-police-corruption/.
Alternatively, members of the public can contact the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) – details of which can be found via their website www.policeconduct.gov.uk or anonymously via the Crimestoppers charity online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or freephone 0800 555 111.
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