A police officer who fabricated ‘lies’ about her ex-boyfriend, causing him to lose his employment, was spared an immediate prison sentence. The “jealous” and “resentful” police officer fabricated a “web of lies” alleging that her ex-boyfriend, a sergeant on the force, abused her.
After their eight-month relationship ended in 2017, Officer Amanda Aston, 44, reported Matthew Taylor for controlling and coercive behaviour, but it became clear this was a sophisticated ploy.
Mr. Taylor was charged with domestic abuse and imprisoned for two months in March 2018 after Aston “encouraged” him to reconcile with her and then reported him for violating bail conditions prohibiting contact with her. He was fired from Surrey Police, where he had worked with Aston, a single mother.
She also submitted a fraudulent application for a £5,000 grant from the Police Welfare Fund, claiming she was forced to relocate due to Mr. Taylor’s harassment after their breakup.
After messages between them revealed that Aston had “misled” investigators with a “melodramatic” account of their relationship, charges against Mr. Taylor were withdrawn. Aston was judged guilty of two counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud by false representation in a March trial.
On Monday, she appeared in Kent’s Maidstone Crown Court, where she was sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years. Eloise Marshall, the prosecutor, told the court that Aston told “blatant” lies in a 57-page statement and that she used her abuse training to construct the account.
She stated that Aston exhibited “no remorse” for her actions and was “motivated by jealousy” regarding Mr. Taylor’s relationships with other women. Ms. Marshall added that Aston’s lies could “prevent” abuse victims from coming forward out of fear of not being believed.
She told the court: “Matthew Taylor spent two months in custody on the basis of false allegations. Her lies and embellishments led to the investigation. Mr Taylor has lost his job as a result.
“Her lies led directly to his imprisonment and breach of bail.” Kevin Baumber, defending, said that Aston and Mr Taylor’s relationship had been “tense and difficult” and that she had been “damaged” by previous experiences which “affected her perceptions”.
After their breakup, he claimed she felt “professionally threatened” by Mr. Taylor and that her behaviour was “consistent with prior emotional abuse.” In his sentencing remarks, Judge John Cavanagh stated that Aston had fabricated a “exaggerated” and “melodramatic” account and created a “false impression” of Mr. Taylor’s conduct.
Despite a “kernel of truth” about their “volatile” relationship, he stated that “the overall impression you gave was demonstrably false”
Speaking after Aston’s trial, Chief Superintendent Tom Budd of Surrey Police said: “The guilty verdict follows a challenging and complex investigation against one of our serving officers which uncovered the web of lies Aston had constructed purely because she knew the impact it would have on Mr Taylor.
“As well as having to serve time in prison, Mr Taylor also lost his job as a police officer and his reputation was left in tatters as a result of her lies. “The messages between them showed that she was telling him one thing, that she didn’t want to support a prosecution and that she loved him and couldn’t live without him, while she was telling police something completely different by saying he had contacted her and turned up at various locations unwanted, including one of the addresses she said she had to move to in order to get away from him.”