A police officer was found guilty of gross misdemeanors after he posted candid photos on OnlyFans to raise money for a hair transplant.
Police officer Harry Edwards, 25, was caught after a friend recognized him on a popular adult website and informed police chiefs.
He resigned from his position with the Hertfordshire Police last September but admitted to gross misconduct before the commission after posting candid photos online.
The disciplinary hearing found that the officer, who was based in Watford, did not tell the Chief Constable that he was making money from OnlyFans.
A police constable who has a receding hairline has been accused of damaging the reputation of the police through his actions.
Edwards denied using his status as a police officer in releasing the images and claimed he went out of his way to disguise himself.
But he was caught after a friend spotted his profile under the name “Brett Hunter” and advertised it on social media.
It was also revealed at the hearing that he planned to use the money he earned from the adult site to pay for a hair transplant.
Jenny Oborne, who represents Hertfordshire Police, told the group: “The charge is related to the operation of the OnlyFans account, and the second charge concerns the failure to declare business interests to the chief constable.
“The existence of his OnlyFans account came to the attention of the police through a member of the public.
“It has become apparent that Mr. Edwards has been using the account to upload and sell images of a sexual nature.
“The website is subscription based where users can sell original content – this account was used for sexual content.
“He used the pseudonym Brett Hunter. He advertised the page under a pseudonym on Twitter.
“In a pinned tweet, he wrote: ‘The lockdown has been long, let’s make it messy’, with a hyperlink to the OnlyFans account. The site has been active for several months.
“The amount was $62, which is equivalent to £45. It’s not clear what content this money came from - it was likely more than one source because OnlyFans was advertised as $3 entry.”
Edwards admitted that he violated his duties and duties as a police constable and violated the rules of conduct from March 21 to July 1, 2020.
Speaking at the hearing, he said, “I used a pseudonym to hide my identity because I didn’t want anyone else, like friends and family, to know what I was doing. I also felt embarrassed.
“Not all of the posts were sexual - some of them were topless photos and some were photos of me in clothes.
“I did it because the launch was free and I could do it in my room. At that time, during the quarantine, overtime work in the police was not possible.
“DISGUST”
“I didn’t realize at the time that this was a behavioral disorder. I closed my account because I think I realized, “What the hell am I doing?”
“It got to the point where I stopped making money altogether. I had a reality check.
“I cropped most of the photos to remove the face. I used the app to change some facial features - I made the nose smaller and the face thinner.
“Photos, however, identify me. The money I received from this account I would use for a hair transplant.
“My use of OnlyFans disgusts me. It ruined friendships with people, potentially ruined my career, and strained my relationship with my partner’s parents.
“It’s actually gotten to the point where if someone mentions OnlyFans as a general topic, I can’t handle it.”
Edwards, who is now an operations manager, stepped down in September 2021 but claims he did not leave for fear of being fired.
Commission Chairman Darren Snow, who sat next to Superintendent Sue Jameson and Independent Commissioner Liz McEwan, ruled that the accusation of using OnlyFans was gross misconduct and that failure to declare it a business interest was misconduct.
Mr Snow said: “We are puzzled that Mr Edwards has not explored other income generating options.
“For the commission, this is a strange move for a police officer.”
He ruled that if Edwards had remained on the police force, he would have been fired.
A former constable is automatically disqualified from working with the police in the future.