Former special constable jailed for 22 years

A former special constable with Northamptonshire Police has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for multiple sex offences against both adults and children.

In 2020, Northamptonshire Police received intelligence regarding potential illegal images of children possessed by 48-year-old Wissem Bonafia.

In August, they attended his address in Barton Seagrave where he was arrested, and multiple electronic devices were seized.

Upon inspection, they were found to contain numerous indecent images and videos of various females from prepubescent age up to the age of 17, many of which Bonafia had taken himself.

The offences took place between 2014 and 2019.

Bonafia was arrested for a second time in 2022 and subsequently charged with six counts of raping a woman aged 16 years or over, one count of assault by penetration of an object/thing, six counts of assaulting a person thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm, five counts of taking an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child, four counts of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child, one count of causing/inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child and one count of committing an act/series of acts with intent to pervert the course of public justice.

A trial date was set for February 16, 2026, which saw a further two charges added - one count of rape, and one count of causing/inciting a child to engage in non-sexual activity.

On day one, Bonafia pleaded guilty to six of the offences - five counts of taking an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child and one count of assaulting a person thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm.

The remaining 21 were taken to trial with the jury hearing the evidence over the course of two weeks.

As the trial progressed, Bonafia pleaded guilty to a further four counts of assaulting a person thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm.

On March 30, the trial ended and Bonafia was found guilty of a further 12 offences.

He was found not guilty of three counts of rape, one of engaging in sexual communication with a child and one of taking an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child.

At the end of last week (June 26) he returned to the same court where he was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Lead investigator - Detective Constable Caroline Knight said: “Bonafia’s actions represent a gross abuse of trust and a clear violation of the standards expected of anyone in a position of responsibility. His offending caused significant harm to his victims, and I want to commend their bravery in coming forward and supporting this investigation.

“This sentence reflects the seriousness of his crimes and ensures he will be held accountable for his actions. Northamptonshire Police remains committed to protecting vulnerable people and will continue to pursue those who seek to exploit or harm others.

“Finally, I’d like to once again thank the survivors in this case for their courage and for believing in me and the process. This result would not have been possible without them.”

Detective Inspector Lee Jones said: “This has been a really complex investigation with a lot of moving parts, and I am grateful to DC Knight for her diligence, victim care and unwavering determination to bring Wissem Bonafia to justice.

“Bonafia’s crimes are a disgrace to the uniform he once wore, and I hope this investigation and subsequent result at court reassures the wider public that we will do all we can to root out individuals like him.

“We have a lot of brilliant special constables in this force who continue to uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism, and for them and their work, we are really grateful.”

Bonafia resigned from special constable duties on November 9, 2021. An accelerated gross misconduct hearing was held by Northamptonshire Police on February 16, 2023, which determined that, had Bonafia still been a serving police officer, he would have been dismissed without notice.