A POLICE sergeant from Highgate sexually assaulted a junior officer at a Christmas party, a court has heard. The jury at St Albans Crown Court were told on Monday (October 19) that openly gay officer David Stevens, of Avenue Road, took advantage of a subo

A POLICE sergeant from Highgate sexually assaulted a junior officer at a Christmas party, a court has heard.

The jury at St Albans Crown Court were told on Monday (October 19) that openly gay officer David Stevens, of Avenue Road, took advantage of a subordinate male officer who had passed out drunk.

Around 40 officers attended the party at the four star Corus Hotel in Elstree, Hertfordshire on December 4, 2008.

Stevens, 37, denies taking advantage of the junior officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, but admitted being drunk after the station knees-up and engaging in a "passionate embrace" with a male police constable on a hotel bed.

Jane Bickerstaff, prosecuting, said that when one of the alleged victim's closest friends on the force heard his colleague had passed out, he planned to go to mock him for being unable to hold his drink.

But when he went into the room, he saw Stevens lying on top of the victim and heard moans, and thought that something about it was "not right", Ms Bickerstaff told the jury. "He was concerned about causing offence just in case what was happening was consensual," she said.

The colleague went back into the room with a fellow officer at which point Stevens left without a word looking "flustered", she said.

"The police officer was still lying on his bed asleep," she said. "It took several attempts in order to rouse him."

When his colleague told him what had been happening, he said words to the effect of 'dirty b******, I never agreed to anything, all I wanted to do was socialise and go to sleep,' the court heard.

Ms Bickerstaff said the victim became more and more agitated and demanded to be told what had happened again. "He then became angry and began to punch the bedroom wall with both fists and made holes in the plaster," she said.

"He was so distressed by what had happened he felt he could not remain in the hotel. He got his things and drove home, despite being over the limit."

The junior officer's colleague said he went from 'party mode to police mode' and called Hertfordshire Police by dialling 999, sealed off the bedroom as a crime scene and set colleagues to guard it, the court heard.

He then arrested Stevens, who responded with the words, "What's going on here," it was said. The alleged victim later told officers that he could not remember anything about the evening after between being downstairs at the party and punching the wall after the alleged attack.

"What he can say to you is that he did not consent to David Stevens touching any part of him and never would he have done had he been aware or conscious of what was happening," said Miss Bickerstaff.

Stevens was taken to Hatfield Police Station where he gave no comment before giving a prepared statement via his solicitor. He admitted being in a "passionate embrace" with his colleague and said he thought the alleged victim may have been embarrassed at being caught in a clinch with another man because they had previously thought he was heterosexual.

Stevens denies sexual assault and the trial continues.