Former police officer Geoffrey Steven Edkins pleads guilty to assaulting girl

A former police officer, who lost his job after using his boss’ computer to wipe a “stupid” domestic violence job, has pleaded guilty to assaulting a 17-year-old girl.

A 54-year-old former police officer has pleaded guilty to one count of common assault on the first day of his hearing, with two counts of sexual touching withdrawn and dismissed.

Geoffrey Steven Edkins, of Hamlyn Terrace, faced Wyong Local Court on Monday where his hearing was vacated after his guilty plea to assaulting a 17-year-old girl, who is not related to him.

An agreed set of police facts, tendered in court, states Edkins was holding a birthday party at his house in March last year where numerous family and friends were in attendance.

Former Tuggerah Lakes Senior Constable Geoffrey Edkins has pleaded guilty to assault. Picture: Facebook

The victim, who was not related to Edkins, was lying on a lounge in the downstairs living room when he “walked around the room apparently intoxicated”.

The victim asked for a blanket which he retrieved from another room.

“The offender walked over to the lounge and draped the blanket over [her],” the facts read.

“The offender proceeded to tuck the blanket in around [her] body and in doing so placed his hand down inside her pyjama pants and inside her underpants. His bare hand touched the bare skin of her buttocks. [She] immediately flinched and moved.”

About 10 minutes later she went upstairs and told her friends “Geoff touched my butt … Geoff touched me.”

Edkins appeared at Wyong Local Court on Monday.

The matter was reported to Wyong Police Station two days later.

At 7.24pm on March 27, 2020, police attended Edkins’ home and he was cautioned.

The facts state he asked officers “are you sure you’ve got the right person? I don’t know anyone by the name of [the victim]”.

He was taken to Wyong Police Station where he was charged with two counts of sexual touching and common assault.

The two sexual touching offences were withdrawn and dismissed on Monday.

He will be sentenced on the assault offence on May 4.

Former Tuggerah Lakes Senior Constable Geoffrey Edkins will be sentenced in May. Picture: Facebook

It comes after the former Senior Constable lost his job after he was charged with being negligent in the execution of his duty and three counts of accessing or modifying restricted data.

The charges stemmed from a domestic violence incident­ he was called to at Bateau­ Bay in October 2015, in which a teenage girl allegedly kicked her mother in the face and threatened her sister with a knife before leaving the house.

The girl also allegedly threatened to come back and damage the house but because­ she was a minor and “would only receive a caution” Edkins told his boss there was no point taking any further action­.

Geoffrey Steven Edkins leaving Gosford District Court in 2016 where he had his conviction for accessing restricted data quashed.

He then went out of his way to avoid following it up until one of his bosses walked away from his desk, leaving his computer logged on.

Edkins then “verified” the event on that computer so it would not be subject to further review.

He pleaded guilty in Gosford Local Court in 2016 where his negligent duty charge was proved but with no conviction recorded and he was put on a two-year good behaviour bond.

One accessing restricted data charge was withdrawn and dismissed while another was again proven but with no conviction.

For the “verifying” the event charge he was convicted but without penalty.

He successfully appealed that conviction in Gosford District Court where a Judge said while the offence was not “trivial” he accepted it was “spur of the moment, foolish attempt” to “get his sergeant off his back.

The Judge also said because Edkins­’ future as an officer was over, it would be highly unlikely he would be in a position to reoffend.