Hawkesbury cop Geoff Bracken’s false sexual touching allegations at Rouse Hill

Shocking details have emerged of how a young cop falsely accused another man of grabbing his groin in a shopping centre carpark following a Tinder date that never happened.

Young Hawkesbury police officer Geoff Bracken, who falsely accused another man of grabbing his penis in at Rouse Hill Town Centre on a fictional Tinder date, has faced court for sentencing.

Bracken, a cop of two years, fabricated a story about going on a Tinder date with Glenorie man Tye Davies after chatting with him on the dating app on November 19.

On Tuesday, Parramatta Local Court heard the web of lies the Kellyville 23-year-old spun to police when he rocked up to Castle Hill police station on December 9 to report that he had become a victim of sexual touching.

Bracken signed a three-page statement accusing Mr Davies of following him to the underground carpark and confronting him after they had coffee at the shopping centre on the morning of November 22.

Geoff Bracken gave Castle Hill police a three-page statement full of lies. Picture: David Swift

The court heard Bracken lied about Mr Davies grabbing his arm, pushing him up against a concrete pylon, causing it to hit his head.

“Once pinned against the pylon, Tye placed one of his legs between the legs of the accused forcing his body against him,’’ the police facts tendered to the court state.

“Tye grabbed the groin of the accused and forced his tongue inside the mouth of the accused forcibly kissing him. This caused the accused to push Tye away before a physical alteration occurred resulting in the accused kicking Tye to the stomach.’’

But it never happened. They never even met in person.

Mr Davies was hiking in the Blue Mountains as part of an assessment for his TAFE course and concluded at Wentworth Falls TAFE the time Bracken said he was attacked.

Mr Davies was subjected to a “distressing’’ police investigation.

Geoff Bracken lied about having a date at Rouse Hill Town Centre. Picture: Angelo Velardo

Evidence corroborated Mr Davies’s alibi after a TAFE teacher said he was on the three-day hike with him while mobile phone records and a transaction from a Blackheath cafe confirmed he was nowhere near Rouse Hill.

There was no CCTV footage from the carpark.

Two days after the fabricated incident, the court heard how Bracken made inquiries with the shopping centre security about how long footage was retained and after being told it was 14 days, he chose to report the matter to police 17 days after the matter.

“The accused’s decision to report the matter outside of the 14-day time frame impeded the police investigation in securing any closed-circuit television from Rouse Hill Town Centre shopping complex for the 22 November 2020, the date the accused alleged the offence occurred,’’ police facts stated.

Bracken also lied about Mr Davies initiating the Tinder communication.

The police investigation showed the pair met on Tinder on December 6 — a date that cannot be altered on the app.

Bracken’s lies also unravelled through Tinder messages which showed he asked Mr Davies how his weekend was on December 6.

Mr Davies responded “volunteering for my old high school to help run their Duke of Ed camp”, an activity that was confirmed with Galston High School’s Duke of Edinburgh co-ordinator Craig Whiteman.

Since December, Bracken has been on restricted duties that forbid him from using a firearm.

On Tuesday, the court heard Bracken disclosed the offence to his colleague Daniel Muscat, who urged him to confess to the police after saying “I can’t turn a blind eye to a stunt like that’’ and questioned if he was worried about confessing to police because of his sexuality.

“Being gay has nothing to do with it,’’ Bracken responded.

The matter was adjourned from last week to determine if it could be dealt with under the Mental Health Act after hearing how Bracken’s post traumatic stress disorder and severe depression led to his cognitive impairment and problem solving difficulties

The court heard that Bracken struggled with mental health problems since being sexually abused as a child and witnessing traumatic events in the police force.

“The offence was unplanned,’’ Bracken’s lawyer Warwick Anderson said via video link, with Bracken in the same office.

“He has excellent prospects of rehabilitation and there is genuine remorse.

“At work he’s restricted so he doesn’t have access to a firearm and he’s subject to a conduct engagement plan.’’

But Director of Police Prosecutions, Peter Bakalidis, said greater weight should be placed on the offence because a policeman carried it out and prompted an investigation with “significant expenses’’ on public resources and caused stress to the victim.

“Police officers hold a position of trust in society,’’ he said.

Magistrate Kate Thompson rejected the application be dealt with under the Mental Health Act, while later acknowledging Bracken’s mental health problems.

“The offence itself is a serious one,’’ Magistrate Thompson said.

“He subjected an innocent person to police investigation for a serious offence and the stress that would have caused.’’

She convicted him and imposed a two-year community corrections order, while ordering him to be on good behaviour and continue his mental health treatment.

A NSW Police spokeswoman said Bracken’s employment was under review.

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