A team of police officers and staff, alongside colleagues from the Barrister Team, have been commended for their work on a high-profile and extremely challenging investigation which resulted in a woman being jailed for multiple counts of perverting the course of justice.
Operation Leaf was commenced initially to investigate reports of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking, made in June 2019.
However, a thorough and detailed investigation uncovered evidence of falsifying evidence against named individuals, including through creating social media posts in alleged perpetrators' names. This resulted in charges of perverting the course of justice in March 2020.
In May 2020, a Facebook post was published purporting to show graphic images of abuse the defendant said she had received at the hands of grooming gangs. This post was shared worldwide by more than 100,000 people and resulted in a significant backlash against the Constabulary and pressure for officers to act against the 'groomers'.
Further investigation revealed the latest accusations to also be falsehoods, resulting in further perverting the course of justice charges.
A trail was held between October 2022 and January 2023 which resulted in unanimous conviction by the jury and a substantial prison sentence.
Those commended for their work on Operation Leaf were nominated by Senior Investigating Officer Doug Marshall. He said: "The claims were shown to be false after each was investigated in painstaking detail in order to substantiate or refute what was being reported.
"What was being reported was extremely concerning offending which was treated with the utmost seriousness.
"The investigation was extraordinarily detailed, with the sequence of events chart prepared for the court case alone running to around 1,500 entries.
"It is important to reiterate that sexual abuse occurs here in Cumbria, as it does everywhere in the country and where it does happen it is always taken seriously and investigated thoroughly and professionally
"This was a unique case, the like of which I hope we never see again."
Those commended by the Chief Constable for their work on Operation Leaf included:
Senior Investigating Officer Doug Marshall
Lead Investigator Andy Hill
Police Staff Investigator Gary Humes
Detective Chief Inspector John Graham-Cumming
Jonathan Sandiford KC
Barbara Webster
Senior Investigating Officer Marshall added: "This was a massive team effort, where at different times numerous teams and departments have been involved in the investigation including response officers, the criminal justice unit, media and marketing, the CPS, victim liaison, a disclosure officer, interviewers, managing the administration of the operation and logistics and many others.
"I am in no doubt that these contributions were crucial to the outcome at Crown Court and in some of those cases the contributions will be recognised separately by Chief Officers."