A police officer who embarked on a sexual relationship with a vulnerable young woman he met while on duty has been jailed for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Gavin Donaldson, 45, admitted telling the woman to delete thousands of emails and messages they had exchanged which evidenced their relationship.

He further instructed her not to hand over her phone to anti-corruption officers who were investigating his behaviour and tried to influence what she would say to them.

Donaldson, who was based at a police station in Midlothian, first met the woman when she was a teenager and an alleged victim of domestic abuse.

Despite being aware of her vulnerabilities, the then officer embarked on a relationship which lasted until November 2020 when he was suspended from Police Scotland.

He resigned from his role at a later date.

During sentencing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday, Sheriff Douglas Keir said: “The offence committed was a calculated and deliberate attempt by a serving police officer to pervert the course of a police investigation into your behaviour.

“The offence is aggravated by the abuse of the trust placed in you by the vulnerable young woman involved.”

He added: “In all of the circumstances, while I have considered all options, I have concluded that there is no alternative sentence to a custodial sentence for an offence of this gravity.”

Donaldson, from Midlothian, was jailed for 14 months after earlier pleading guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice.

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Justin Farrell, head of the Crown Office’s specialist Criminal Allegations Against the Police Division, said: “A woman who trusted him to provide professional help and support found herself being manipulated by him and encouraged to cover-up his entirely inappropriate behaviour.

“I commend this woman’s bravery in speaking out about Donaldson’s actions.”

Chief Superintendent Catriona Henderson said officers like Donaldson “don’t belong in Police Scotland”.

She added: “As soon as this offending came to light, Donaldson was swiftly removed from his position and a thorough criminal investigation carried out before he subsequently resigned from the organisation.

“I would like to thank those who supported the investigation, leading to this sentence.”

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