A SERVING Dorset Police officer has been found guilty of sexual offences – including two counts of rape.

PC Ravi Canhye was convicted at Winchester Crown Court today (October 4) following an eight-day trial, with a jury finding him guilty of eight sexual offences – two rapes, one attempted rape and three sexual assaults against one woman and one assault by touching against a second.

Both women were known to him.

All eight offences Canhye was found guilty of happened during a weekend in April 2022, while he was off duty.

The 47-year-old is due to be sentenced tomorrow (October 5).

Dorset Police Temporary Deputy Chief Constable, Rachel Farrell, said: “I would like to thank the victims for their courage to come forward to report these abhorrent crimes to us and supporting our investigation as well as the strength they have shown throughout the court process.

“I hope this sends a message to all victims of sexual abuse that we will do all we can to investigate offences and ensure offenders are brought to justice, while we will also make sure victims are supported.

“We have been able to bring this case before the court due to the thorough investigation conducted by our highly-trained detectives and I would like to recognise their work as well as the support our specialist officers provided to the victims.

“PC Canhye has behaved in a way that is clearly criminal and utterly unacceptable, especially when bearing in mind the trust the public should be able to have in him as a member of the police service.”

She said there was “no place” for people who commit sexual offences in the police force.

“I understand that these crimes will cause concern for our community and the fact that they were committed by a police officer is even more abhorrent,” she said.

“We are determined to root out officers who commit such offences as well as domestic abuse or show discriminatory, abusive or misogynistic behaviours.

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“I hope that responding robustly to allegations of any violence against women by police officers or staff sends a strong message to the public about our standards and values and builds confidence in how we respond to all allegations. Our unique powers and responsibilities mean we must hold ourselves to the highest standards.

“I would urge anyone who has been the victim of a sexual assault to please come forward and report it to us. We always ensure victims are supported by specially-trained officers and will do everything in our power to identify those responsible and hold them to account.

“Police Constable Ravi Canhye was immediately suspended at the time the allegations were made and has remained suspended throughout the investigation. He will now be subject to misconduct proceedings.”

If you have been a victim of rape or sexual assault, and you want to report directly to the police, call 101 and ask to be put in contact with a specially-trained officer.

Alternatively, you can contact The Shores Sexual Assault Referral Centre on 0800 970 9954.