A POLICE officer has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman whilst off-duty in Aberaeron.

DC Samuel Garside, of Dyfed-Powys Police, was on trial at Swansea Crown Court accused of sexual assault by penetration – which he denied.

The 31-year-old from Cwmann admitted that a sexual act did take place between him and the complainant, but that it had been consensual.

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After just over an hour and 15 minutes, the jury returned to court and delivered a not guilty verdict.

“You are discharged from the dock Mr Garside,” said Judge Paul Thomas KC.

Judge Thomas thanked the jury for the “obvious care and attention” they had given the case.

Garside – who was based in Dyfed-Powys Police’s Ceredigion division – was suspended from the force when the allegations were reported.

During the course of the trial, the jury heard that Garside and the complainant walked together from the Castle Hotel to the Prince of Wales in Aberaeron on December 3, 2021.

The complainant alleged that Garside “grabbed” her and “pushed [her] into a doorway”. She said that he “kind of pinned me into the doorway, being really close to me”, and then sexually assaulted her.

“As we were walking, flirting, we gave each other a look, headed towards the doorway, and that’s when we started kissing,” Garside told the jury.

He was asked who initiated this, to which he replied: “Both of us”.

“In a case like this, it is very much one on one,” said Nicola Powell, defending.

“It is very difficult for a man in these circumstances when a woman said you’ve done this to me.

“What is he supposed to say?”

During his evidence, Garside was asked what he would have done if he believed the complainant was not consenting.

“I would have instantly stopped,” he said.

“It’s not in my character to grab somebody.”

Prosecutor Roger Griffiths suggested to the jury that Garside had added in details which he hadn’t mentioned in his police interview – such as the “look” between him and the complainant before the incident took place.

“’Did [the complainant] say anything that made you think she was consenting?’,” he said, reading a question the police asked Garside in interview.

Turning to the jury, he said: “He doesn’t answer the question. He just said she was consenting.”

“The interview took place in July 2023 – some 18 months after the incident took place,” said Ms Powell.

She added that his account in interview was “consistent” with the evidence he had given at court, and refuted the suggestion that he had added details in his evidence to make himself look better and the complainant look worse.