Former Police Detective Sentenced for Psychological Abuse of Mistress
A married former detective constable with Lancashire Constabulary has been jailed for two and a half years after subjecting his mistress to a prolonged campaign of psychological manipulation and coercive control. Michael Harvey, 65, fabricated serious health scares and traumatic personal history to maintain dominance over the woman, Preston Crown Court heard.
Systematic Deception and Emotional Blackmail
The court was told that Harvey, who worked on the Force's Major Incident Team and Sexual Offender's Unit, first encountered the divorcee by chance in a Rawtenstall supermarket in May 2012. After spotting her in the aisles at Asda, he followed her outside and noted her car registration, before using police systems to check whether she was single.
This initial act of surveillance "set the tone" for what would become years of controlling behaviour, prosecutors said. When they met again months later in the same supermarket, Harvey presented himself as a serving police officer and began pursuing a relationship.
Fabricated Crises and False Narratives
Harvey, a father-of-three who had never actually separated from his wife, employed multiple deceptive tactics to maintain control:
- Claiming to be undergoing cancer checks while never allowing his victim to attend medical appointments
- Fabricating a history of childhood sexual abuse to elicit sympathy
- Exaggerating mental health issues from his work following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Sri Lanka
- Threatening suicide whenever the woman attempted to end the relationship
Prosecutor Emma Kehoe told the court: "As the relationship progressed the woman became very concerned about whether any of this was true." Harvey even pretended to suffer anaphylactic shock after a bee sting, only to recover when paramedics arrived.
Financial Exploitation and Family Division
Harvey persuaded the woman to let him live in her home rent-free by claiming financial hardship, despite receiving 90% of his police salary during sick leave. His presence created significant tension between the victim and her children, who disapproved of the relationship and suspected manipulation.
"Their concerns turned out to be true," Ms Kehoe added during proceedings.
Victim's Psychological Trauma
The woman, who works as a celebrant, described experiencing "psychological warfare" that removed her ability to make rational decisions. She told the court: "I was in a constant state of worry about him and terrified if I did or said something wrong, he would kill himself, and I would be responsible."
The stress became so severe that she began suffering nosebleeds during sleep and felt reduced to a "non-person." She repressed the abuse for six years before reporting Harvey to police in July 2022.
Sentencing and Judicial Remarks
Judge Andrew Jeffries KC told Harvey that only immediate custody was appropriate for the scale of his offending. "Although you used no physical violence, you did trick and toy with her emotionally, you lied to her, you threatened self-harm repeatedly, drove a wedge between her and her children and manipulated your own issues with your mental health," he stated.
The judge emphasised that Harvey had caused "significant psychological harm and very serious distress" through persistent coercive behaviour that occasionally humiliated his victim.
Police Response and Professional Standards
Supt Pete Reil of Lancashire Police's Professional Standards Department condemned Harvey's conduct: "Harvey's abhorrent behaviour has no place in policing and is not reflective of the overwhelming majority of officers who put on the uniform everyday with the aim of making a positive difference."
He added that colleagues would be "disgusted and angered" by the former detective's actions, which betrayed public trust in law enforcement.
Harvey, who had retired from Lancashire Constabulary four years before his arrest, was also made subject to a 10-year restraining order prohibiting contact with his victim. The court heard he had previously admitted controlling and coercive behaviour along with two counts of misusing police systems.
