The sick text messages which brought down GMP officer who used cadet scheme as his 'grooming playground'

A former Greater Manchester Police constable who sexually assaulted teenagers he was training was brought down by a series of sick text messages he sent to his victims.

Adnan Ali was convicted of sexually assaulting two girls and a 17-year-old boy during his time as the leader of a large cadet unit for the force, at Liverpool Crown Court today (April 24).

The court previously heard the 36-year-old father, from Old Trafford, used the training scheme as a 'grooming playground' and 'exploited the freedom he was given.'

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He also found guilty of misconduct in public office after a lengthy GMP investigation uncovered streams of inappropriate sexualised messages and images sent to young people in his care.

On some days, hundreds of messages would be sent from Ali's phone in the early hours of the morning until late at night, a spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said.

He also sent 'highly inappropriate photographs' of himself and would encourage other young people to send images to him in return.

One sickening text message included: "Just lay in bed... wish u were here xx" and another said: "Wish you were in the bath with me."

Ali, known as Adz, became police leader of Trafford cadets in 2013 after suffering post traumatic stress disorder after a serious knife injury while on duty.

He was based in Stretford and the cadet unit rapidly grew to about 130 cadets, the largest group in Greater Manchester. While he was head of the unit they won local and national awards which enhanced his reputation.

Prosecuting counsel, Anne Whyte, KC, has claimed that he 'threw out the rule book' and engaged in conduct and communications with cadets and