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A senior constable charged with 11 domestic violence offences against his former partner allegedly illegally accessed New South Wales police’s internal database to look up information about her and other men she knew.
Jordan Weston, 28, appeared before Picton local court, south of Sydney, on Thursday to face charges including allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend on six occasions and stalking and intimidating her between May 2021 and October 2023.
Weston – a serving officer in Parramatta – was arrested and charged with the domestic violence offences at Narellan police station on 2 May. He was also charged with 14 counts of accessing or modifying restricted data.
He was released on bail that same day on conditions including that he was not to go near or attempt to contact the woman. NSW police said he was suspended with pay.
Court documents show that police were concerned Weston could commit a serious offence, endanger the safety of others or interfere with witnesses or evidence if he was released on bail.
The sergeant who signed off on his release cited several reasons for the decision including that Weston was a serving officer, had no previous similar charges, and was “unlikely” to serve time in prison for his alleged offences.
Weston was charged about four months after his former girlfriend applied for an apprehended domestic violence order [ADVO] against him, prompting a police investigation.
Weston and the woman began an “official” relationship around the start of April 2021 after meeting on the dating app Hinge, according to court documents seen by Guardian Australia.
He allegedly physically assaulted her for the first time in May 2021, when he was 25, police documents filed with the court say.
Weston and the woman broke up in April 2023. He allegedly seriously assaulted her in May 2023 and stalked, intimidated or harassed her on three separate occasions after that, the police documents allege.
Applying for the ADVO, the woman told police that Weston had previously told her that he was engaged in services to help his behavioural issues but did not disclose to these services that he was a police officer, police allege.
The woman said she believed her house was “bugged” because Weston would message or call her and refer to things she had done or said in the house without him there, police say.
The woman told police that on occasions after she and Weston had broken up, he had driven near her house “to be close to her” and that he had also looked up information about certain people, police say.
Police allege Weston made “numerous checks” of the computerised operational policing system (Cops).
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The database holds sensitive information including incidents reported to police.
Police allege Weston used the system to search his then girlfriend, her previous addresses, and other men she knew including her ex-husband, her father, her brother and friends.
The woman told police she was afraid for her safety.
Police granted the woman a provisional domestic violence order, noting they held their own fears that Weston had the potential to “cause further problems” for her once he found out about it.
Weston sat at the back of the court room on Thursday during a short hearing to deal with his domestic violence charges and his former girlfriend’s ADVO application. He stood up when the magistrate asked him to identify himself.
Weston put on a disposable face mask and large sunglasses before he left the court. He refused to answer questions from journalists outside.
His case was adjourned until 6 June. He will face a separate court on 12 June for the charges related to illegally accessing the Cops system.