A police officer who was “infatuated” with her convicted criminal boyfriend has been jailed for sharing sensitive information with him.
Lorna Pennycook, 38, illegally accessed information on West Midlands Police systems between 2017 and 2021 and gave it to Anthony Kennedy, 43, who has 18 convictions for offences including vehicle theft.
She shared information about Kennedy, his vehicles, and crime in the Sandwell area of Birmingham after meeting him on a dating site in 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
The information gave Kennedy an “advantage” and had the potential to impede active police investigations, the CPS claimed.
The disgraced former officer, who worked with the force’s organised crime and gangs team, was so “infatuated” with Kennedy that she once tried to call him 81 times. He only answered three of those calls.
Pennycook, of Walsall, pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in public office in March 2023 and was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday to four years in prison.
Between August and November 2017, she sought information about two HGV thefts Kennedy was involved in on August 22, 2017 and October 26, 2017 while she worked for West Midlands Police.
Messages showed he wanted to end the relationship when he found out Pennycook was a police officer in 2017, but she replied telling him she had “accepted everything” about him, adding: “You don’t choose who you love.”
When Kennedy tried to break off the relationship, Pennycook persuaded him that she could help him, the head of the CPS’s special crime division said.
In a police interview following her arrest, Pennycook said Kennedy had “ruined her life” and she was in fear of him, the CPS said.
She would tell Kennedy to delete messages between them, and in February 2021, asked Kennedy to obtain a “burner” phone for her to use for their contact.
There was evidence that Kennedy encouraged her to conduct the criminal searches on some occasions, the CPS added.
Kennedy, of Tipton, admitted encouraging or assisting offences believing one or more will be committed in March 2024, and was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday.
Malcolm McHaffie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s special crime division, said: “Lorna Pennycook became infatuated with Anthony Kennedy, and provided him with extremely sensitive information over a four-year period.
“There is evidence that Kennedy encouraged her to conduct the criminal searches on some occasions, but Pennycook must also take responsibility for her shameful actions, which have risked damaging public trust and confidence in police officers.
“She persuaded Kennedy that she could assist him when he attempted to break off the relationship and must now face the consequences of passing confidential material to a convicted criminal.”
Steve Noonan, director of operations for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said: “Ex-PC Pennycook’s actions were corrupt and criminal.
“Abusing her position of power to assist criminal activity rather than clamp down on it was a complete betrayal of the public’s trust and such behaviour has no place in policing.
“She has now been held accountable for her actions and has a criminal record as a result.
“This investigation is testament to how seriously the IOPC, law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system takes this kind of behaviour and I am grateful to all those involved in ensuring justice was served today.”