disgraced | 

Sleazy ex-cop jailed over affair with young woman he arrested set to contest theft charges

Former PSNI officer who abused position to exploit drug addict set to contest allegations

Today at 09:26

A disgraced police officer, jailed for abusing his position of power to exploit a vulnerable young woman to conduct a year-long illicit affair, is set to contest a series of thefts.

On Monday at Lisburn Magistrates Court, it was revealed that the PPS had refused defence applications for an “alternative disposal” for Mark Goddard, which means the case will proceed to contest.

Freed from prison around 15 months ago after admitting misconduct in public office, the 38-year-old is now charged with nine counts of theft — all from Peter and Hilary Niblock.

The alleged offending took place between January 1, 2017, and November 23, 2019.

A list of random items that Goddard, with an address at Ballymacash Park in Lisburn, is alleged to have stolen includes: seven Scalextric cars and grandstands; Haynes car manuals for classic BMW and Honda Civic; diecast models of a VW Campervan and Beetle; a Harp mirror and dining seat covers; perfume, aftershave and Ugg boots; a boxed Harry Potter figure; spot lamp covers for a classic Ford; car speakers, a laptop and an Apple TV.

The judge accepted a request to adjourn for two weeks when a date for the contest will be fixed. Having heard Goddard now lives in England, the judge agreed he can appear by videolink for the trial.

It was back in August 2021 when the former officer was handed a two-year sentence for misconduct in public office, offences which saw him kicked out of the PSNI soon afterwards.

The sleazy ex-cop conducted a year-long affair with a vulnerable drug addict he arrested for burglary in 2017.

The father-of-two later pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in public office by disclosing confidential information from the police computer system.

Jailing Goddard, the judge told him: “You were in a position of privilege and power. You abused that position to satisfy your own sexual desires at the expense of a vulnerable young woman who, by your own admission, you cared little for as a person.”

During the affair, Goddard had sent Levi Mailey close to 10,000 text messages, more than 3,000 of which were sent when he was on duty and many of which were “highly sexualised”. Goddard also sent explicit images of himself and asked for intimate images of her “in return”.

The pair had numerous consensual sexual encounters in Goddard’s marital home, his car and a “designated meeting point”, but their affair came to light in May 2018 when the PSNI, investigating a stabbing incident, spoke to the woman, who revealed she had been having an affair with Goddard.

That revelation sparked the probe which uncovered not just the affair, but also that Goddard had accessed the police computer system and disclosed confidential details to his lover.

Goddard was freed from jail after serving half of his sentence. His time inside, the judge remarked, would be particularly hard but his offending was “a gross breach of the trust reposed in the defendant”.