A police inspector, from Llanelli, Wales, who met up with a sex worker and ‘abandoned’ her without paying has been named – he was also barred from policing
A police inspector who met a sex worker then fled without paying her has been named as Justin Ellerton. The officer, who was a neighbourhood inspector in Llanelli, Wales, had “instigated contact” with the woman for weeks to secure her sexual services, a hearing was told.
Ellerton’s contact with the sex worker included him sending messages while on and off duty before he collected her from her home, while he was off-duty, on June 4, 2024. He took her to “a location in the Morriston area, where she was led to believe she was to be paid for her sexual services” but he “abandoned the female” and fled the scene, according to Dyfed-Powys Police.
Ellerton resigned from Dyfed-Powys Police in February having admitted gross misconduct with a “known sex worker”. He was then barred from serving as a police officer following a misconduct hearing a month after, according to WalesOnline.
The decision to anonymise Ellerton and withhold his rank was made by Ian Arundale, who retired as the force’s chief constable in 2012 and now chairs its misconduct hearings.
He banned the media from naming the officer in order to avoid any impact on “the wellbeing of other persons”. Dyfed-Powys Police overturned the decision after a legal challenge by WalesOnline.
Arfon Jones, former PCC for North Wales, said he was concerned by the lack of transparency initially in Justin Ellerton’s case, saying: “Why legally qualified chairs of misconduct panels and senior police officers grant anonymity to accused officers is often a mystery without any rationale, and it seems increasingly to be the norm rather than an exception.”
Deputy Chief Constable Ifan Charles, who made the decision to lift Ellerton’s anonymity, previously commented on the case in March: “Dyfed-Powys Police expects the highest standards of professional behaviour from its officers and staff, both on and off duty.
“The behaviour of former Officer A [Ellerton] was totally unacceptable, and the force will continue to relentlessly pursue any allegations of a sexual nature from both a criminal and misconduct perspective.”
When the force was asked why Ellerton was not charged with soliciting the services of a prostitute, an offence which regularly lands people in court, a spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police said Ellerton’s actions were not criminal because “the solicitation did not take place in a street or public place”.
Explaining his reasoning for granting anonymity, Mr Arundale said he had rejected an application for Ellerton’s hearing to be heard in private.
He said: “I determined, however, that, in the interest of transparency, open justice and maintaining public confidence, I would hold a public hearing but provide the accused officer with anonymity.
“This I determined as a sensible proportionate and pragmatic step to ensure the wellbeing of other persons who could be identified, and targeted, if Officer A was named in public.”