'Predatory' cop turned up in police van to ask if unborn baby was his
A serving police officer had sex with vulnerable women while on duty - and even turned up in a force van demanding to know if he was the father of an unborn child, a court has heard.
Anthony Ritchie had sex with one woman after arresting her partner and began a sexual relationship with another after trying to arrest her son.
He also told another woman: 'At least you got to meet a fit police officer' after she was the victim of an armed robbery", a court heard.
The 46-year-old, from Birmingham, struck up inappropriate relationships with two vulnerable women he met while on duty.
He was found guilty of two counts of misconduct in a public office following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
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Tinder "predator" Ritchie is set to be jailed (West Midlands Police / SWNS)
Walters was also called a "predatory" police officer (West Midlands Police / SWNS)His ex-colleague Steven Walters, 55, initiated oral sex with two women while responding to domestic abuse incidents in 2013, an investigation by the the Independent Office for Police Conduct claimed, reports Birmingham Live.
Jurors at the 12-day trial were told Walters was jailed for sexually assaulting two different women in 2015 and dismissed by West Midlands Police in 2016.
Walters, from Derbyshire, was also convicted of two counts of the same offence for getting domestic violence victims to perform oral sex on him when attending their homes on callouts.
In July 2014, Ritchie was given management advice following an allegation he abused his authority by asking a vulnerable woman out on a date.
PC Steven Walters was also the subject of an IOPC investigation (SWNS)The guidance came five months after he attended an armed robbery and messaged the female victim: "At least you got to meet a fit police officer. You gonna let me take you out Friday then?"
West Midlands Police officer Ritchie signed a statement admitting his behaviour was 'unprofessional' and vowed not to repeat it. But by then he had already met another vulnerable woman with whom he would have an illicit relationship.
He attended her home in June 2014 to arrest her ex-partner but later returned holding a jar of coffee and invited himself in. He made comments about her appearance, followed her into the kitchen, pushed her hair aside and kissed her.
They had sex multiple times and Ritchie even met her stepmother.
Highly-sexualised messages the officer sent her were read to the court. The jury was also told the victim fell pregnant at a time when she had been sleeping with her ex-partner and Ritchie, who once turned up in a police van and asked if the baby was his.
Ritchie leaving Birmingham Magistrates Court (BPM Media)
Judge Roderick Henderson warned the pair should "almost certainly" expect to serve prison sentences (BPM Media)He met another woman, a widow, in June 2014 having attended her house to arrest her son, who was not there.
'I tricked my sister into giving her baby a stupid name - she had it coming'
After leaving he contacted the woman to confirm her son had attended a station voluntarily but said: "I don't normally do this but any chance I can phone you when I finish?"
They went to a pub and ended up developing a sexual relationship. Her sons were said to be unhappy about it, given Ritchie had tried to arrest one of them, while he was also accused of encouraging the woman to get rid of her husband's belongings.
When the relationship was investigated Ritchie told her to lie to his superior officer and say they met by chance in a pub. She later noticed that, while suspended from the force, he still described himself as a police officer on Tinder. She became concerned he was a "predator preying on vulnerable women".
Ritchie and Walters are due to be sentenced on September 21.
Judge Roderick Henderson warned they should "almost certainly" expect to serve prison sentences, saying they shamed their profession.
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