A former police officer from Seaton has been jailed for stalking a ‘vulnerable’ young woman and illegally using the force database to pursue her.
Kevin Davis, aged 41, of Seafield Road, Seaton, in East Devon, was last week jailed for four months after admitting he began stalking a 20-year-old woman in January 2025, making unwanted contact through social media, direct messages, and turning up at the gym, where they were both members.
Davis, who resigned from the police in the summer, used his position to ‘spy’ on the woman, using the restricted police force database, repeatedly searching for her over three months, including while he was on holiday.
Devon and Cornwall Police said Davis still faces former officer misconduct proceedings within the force.
The court was told Davis looked at his victim’s social media accounts 100 times, making ‘unwanted contact’.
He made ‘repeated unwanted comments’ to the woman on social media posts, and in January asked her out several times.
And he turned up at the gym to speak to her, making ger feel ‘vulnerable and unsafe’.
Warjinder Bains, prosecuting, said: “The defendant used his position as a police officer to look her up on the police system to, in effect, spy on her, accessing the system also on his off-duty periods, including when he was on annual leave.”
Over a three-month period, Davis repeatedly messaged the woman the court was told. And he approached her at the gym, and searched 24 times for her on computer systems at work, including while he was on annual leave.
Davis pleaded guilty to charges of stalking and accessing a database for a non-policing purpose.
District Judge Stuart Smith, jailing Davis at Exeter Crown Court, said the actions were ‘very serious offences’ against a ‘very vulnerable young lady’, which ‘seriously undermined the trust’ placed in police.
The judge said sentencing Davis to anything less than jail would have a significant effect on the public’s trust.
DI Vicky Lewandowski, of Devon and Cornwall Police professional standards department said: “We received a serious report against a serving police officer. He was arrested and suspended from duty in May 2025. The professional standards department carried out a detailed investigation.
“Investigations of this nature are not straightforward, and I would like to praise the victim for her bravery and resilience in supporting this throughout the judicial process.
“We expect all our officers and staff to maintain high levels of professional standards and behaviour, Davis has shown a disregard for this expectation. Devon and Cornwall Police will always strive to increase and maintain public confidence in the service we provide.
“Davis resigned from the police in June 2025 but will still face former officer misconduct proceedings within force.”
The force said the former officer made unwanted contact with the much younger woman victim over social media and later through direct messages.
A spokesperson for the police said: “He also approached her at the gym where they were both members, making her feel vulnerable and unsafe.”
Davis also pleaded guilty to causing a computer to perform a function with intent to secure unauthorised access to a program or data held in a computer, the force said.
