Adnan Ali was charged over incidents between 2015 and 2019, involving young men and women on Greater Manchester Police's volunteer cadet scheme which he ran. He had denied the allegations.

Ali, a father-of-one, was arrested and suspended in October 2018, after GMP received a complaint that he had been behaving inappropriately towards a 16-year-old boy, Liverpool Crown Court was told.

Electronic devices were seized following his arrest, with officers finding thousands of messages and identifying further victims whose evidence was used to secure the charges which were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service in July 2021.

Sexualised messages were discovered on PC Ali's mobile phone, and a number of those who came forward reported being sexually assaulted by the officer, the trial heard.

Though Ali will be sentenced at a later date, he has already been dismissed from his job and barred from policing, when gross misconduct was proven in April 2022.

Following today's conviction, the force will suggest to the deputy mayor Kate Green that Ali, 36, should be ordered to forfeit his pension.

Chief Inspector Colin McFarlane told Sky News that the offences Ali had committed were "appalling" and "abhorrent behaviour", and that the force welcomes the decision of the courts.

Mr McFarlane said it was "very shocking" Ali exploited his position as a police officer, adding: "What is important to identify is that nobody coming into contact with police officers or staff should be exposed to harm, and clearly these young people have had that experience.

"Ali is responsible for the offences he committed, but I acknowledge that more could have been done to supervise him in his time at Greater Manchester Police."

He said that while he did not know Ali personally, it was clear from the evidence presented and his conviction that he had "no place in policing".

Following the charges, GMP said it was continuing action to "ensure predatory employees are rooted and booted out".

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Head of GMP's Professional Standards Branch, Chief Superintendent Mike Allen, said: "Today's verdict will do nothing to ease the public's concerns about police misconduct."

He said that Ali represented the "very worst and the minority in policing", adding: "He is among a very small percentage who discredit the police service and undermine trust and confidence in it."

He continued: "These individuals are being rooted and booted out by exemplary colleagues reporting their behaviour, investigating allegations, building cases against them, and playing a crucial role in proceedings to ensure they face the full force of the criminal justice system and have the many privileges of working in policing taken from them."

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) regional director Catherine Bates said: "Ali's disgraceful behaviour has had a significant impact on his victims and has absolutely no place in policing.

"The investigation also highlighted serious failings in the way cadet schemes were being managed by GMP and we welcome a range of steps taken by the force since these offences were discovered to improve supervision of the officers entrusted with this level of responsibility."