Picture shows former Sussex Police officer Damien Cotgreave

Detective Constable Damien Cotgreave bombarded up to a dozen women with shocking pornographic selfies and smutty messages, a hearing was told.

A disciplinary panel heard how he even bunked off work for two hours to visit one woman at her home and give her an intimate back massage under her clothes.

He also sent the unnamed women pornographic selfies of himself taken while at work.

The hearing was told that he took a lewd photo of himself in the toilets of a court while attending a drugs trial.

READ MORE: Former police detective sent pictures of his penis to women while he was on duty

Yesterday, 18 out of 20 charges of gross misconduct charges for behaviour between December 2019 to February 2020 were proven.

The officer could have been sacked by Sussex Police but the panel was told Mr Cotgreave had already resigned from the force.

Instead they barred him from ever serving as an officer again.

Damien Cotgreave would have been sacked if he hadn't resigned first

The hearing was told Mr Cotgreave joined Sussex Police in 2013 and was a respected officer working in a unit tackling organised crime and drugs based in Hastings police station.

The married officer, 45, also worked as a drugs expert witness and attended several trials.

Over a two month period the officer contacted 12 women - all members of the public - on social media while on duty.

The hearing was told that he asked them about their sexual preferences and whether they enjoyed oral sex.

The married officer also sent explicit pornographic selfies to at least six women while on duty.

Louise Ravenscroft, representing the force, said his behaviour while on duty was a clear breach of his duties and responsibilities as a police officer and amounted to gross misconduct.

She said: “Mr Cotgreave clearly engaged in sexualised conversations and in sending sexual images and videos.”

READ MORE: Ex-detective accused of sending explicit pictures to women while on duty

On January 24 last year, Mr Cotgreave was on duty when he left work to visit a woman at home.

While at her house, he massaged her back under her clothing causing her to later question the nature of their relationship

He later told her: “We’re good friends. I was just stroking your back because I know it feels nice. You mean the world to me and I just want you to feel safe and secure in my arms.”

While on duty, the detective also repeatedly texted one women who suffered from serious mental health problems.

During one exchange of messages between the pair, the woman appeared to have taken an overdose.

But she said even though the woman tells the detective she had taken some pills he failed to act and summon help.

She told him: “I’ve taken more pills because I give no f***s. No-one can do anything. I don’t even trust the police anymore now.”

Damien Cotgreave declined to appear before a disciplinary panel at Sussex Police HQ in Lewes

On another occasion the 45-year-old detective texted an 18-year-old woman and told her he was a police officer.

Knowing she was 18, he asked her how many sexual partners she had been and asked the age of the oldest person she had been with or would want to be with.

On a separate occasion, he sent messages to another women, who suffered from cerebral palsy, asking her about her sexual preferences.

Barring him from every serving as an officer again, Nicola Talbot-Hadley, chair of the panel, said that although no-one came to any harm as a result and the messages were exchanged between consenting adults his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct.

She said: “Any misconduct involving sexual impropriety undermines public trust in the profession and is particularly serious.”