Overview
- A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Ryan Theaker guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault and on Thursday he was sentenced to 11 years in prison with a further five years on licence.
- The victim secretly recorded about 85 minutes of the attack on her phone and prosecutors played the audio at trial to show her repeated refusals and pleas for the assault to stop.
- Merseyside Police opened the criminal probe in August 2024, seized Theaker’s phone and later found he had shared ableist WhatsApp videos in 2021, prompting a Professional Standards inquiry that led to Gross Misconduct findings and his placement on the College of Policing Barred List after he resigned in August 2025.
- The court ordered Theaker to serve at least two thirds of his custodial term before release eligibility, placed him on the sex offenders’ register for life and imposed an indefinite restraining order plus licence conditions designed to protect the victim and the public.
- Senior force officials condemned his conduct, highlighted specialist support and anonymous reporting routes for victims and said the case shows both criminal law and police disciplinary systems can act to remove and punish officers who abuse their position.