Ryan Theaker Liverpool Hotel Rape: Ex-PC Jailed 11 Years 2026

Key Points

• Ex-Merseyside Police officer Ryan Theaker, 30, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for raping a woman in Liverpool hotel room.
• The incident happened in late 2023 when Theaker was an active police officer but not on duty.
• The victim, whom Theaker knew, secretly filmed almost 85 minutes of the sexual assault on her mobile phone.
• In the recording, she can be heard pleading with Theaker to “get off me” over 300 times.
• Theaker pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration.
• Sentence for Theaker included classification as a “dangerous” offender and an extended five-year license term.
• Two-thirds of the total 11-year custodial sentence need to be served before Theaker becomes eligible for release according to the Parole Board.
• Theaker will be listed as a sex offender on the register for life and will have to comply with a life-long restraining order.
• Theaker resigned from his job as a Merseyside Police officer in August 2025, prior to a misconduct panel finding that he would have been dismissed from the service.

Liverpool Crime (Liverpool standard) October 09, 2026 – A former Merseyside Police constable has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of raping a woman during an 82-minute attack in a Liverpool hotel room. Ryan Theaker, 30, of Park Lane in Netherton, was handed the sentence at Liverpool Crown Court after a jury found him guilty of rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration.

What did Ryan Theaker do in the Liverpool hotel?

As reported by the BBC, Theaker subjected the woman, who was known to him, to an 82-minute sexual assault after a night out in 2023. The victim secretly recorded the incident on her mobile phone, and the audio was later played to jurors during his trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Prosecutor Gareth Roberts told the court that the recordings documented Theaker pressuring the woman to allow him to take nude photographs of her despite her clear refusals. The court also heard that he used sex toys he had brought to the hotel to assault her.

As reported by the Liverpool Echo, the recording captured nearly 85 minutes of what the prosecution described as a “prolonged and degrading” assault. During the audio, the woman told Theaker more than 300 times to get off her, while he made sexual demands and appeared intoxicated.

The Liverpool Echo reported that Theaker had consumed at least eight pints by the time of the attack. The recording captured him belching, hiccupping and slurring his words as he made sexual demands.

What did the judge say during sentencing?

Judge Brian Cummings KC outlined Theaker’s actions when passing sentence. As reported by the BBC, the judge said Theaker repeatedly told the woman to get into the bath, which she refused, pushed her onto the bed, stripped her of her clothing and took photographs of her despite her continuous objections.

The judge also said that, when the woman believed the ordeal was over, Theaker grabbed her by the hair and raped her. He described the harm inflicted on the victim as severe psychological harm and said Theaker was in “large measure” responsible for her suicide attempt in 2024.

Judge Cummings designated Theaker a dangerous offender. He sentenced him to 11 years in prison, with an additional five-year extended licence period.

What sentence will Ryan Theaker serve?

Theaker must serve at least two-thirds of his 11-year custodial sentence before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board. As reported by the Liverpool Echo, after any release he will be subject to stringent licence conditions for five years, plus the unserved part of his custodial sentence.

He will also remain on the sex offenders’ register for life. The court imposed an indefinite restraining order protecting his victim and members of her family.

What was Ryan Theaker convicted of?

A jury convicted Theaker of one count of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of assault by penetration. As reported by the Liverpool Echo, the verdict followed a trial at Liverpool Crown Court, with the jury of eight women and four men deliberating for 10 hours and 41 minutes before returning its conclusions on August 20.

The same jury found Theaker not guilty of two offences and was unable to reach verdicts on two other allegations. He was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing, which took place on October 8.

What happened to Ryan Theaker’s police career?

Theaker was a serving constable with Merseyside Police when the offences occurred. As reported by the BBC, the offences were reported in August 2024, after which he was suspended and faced misconduct proceedings.

He resigned from Merseyside Police in August 2025, one day before a misconduct hearing. The hearing concluded that he would have been dismissed had he remained in the force.

Merseyside Police said the misconduct case related to Theaker sharing two videos in a WhatsApp group in 2021 that were “ableist in nature”. The force said the matter was found proven at the level of gross misconduct.

What did the victim say?

The victim described Theaker as “a monster”, according to the Mirror. Her account and the secret audio recording formed a central part of the evidence presented to the jury.

The Liverpool Echo reported that the woman’s “quick-thinking” in recording the attack ultimately helped build the case against Theaker. The recording captured her repeated pleas for him to stop and leave her alone.

Background of the development

Ryan Theaker was previously a member of Merseyside Police’s Matrix unit. Before the criminal case, he had been described in court reporting as an “excellent police officer”, had received a commendation in 2020 and had been nominated for a bravery award in the previous year.

The criminal allegations arose from an incident in a Liverpool city-centre hotel in late 2023. The victim reported the offences in August 2024, leading to Theaker’s suspension and a police investigation.

Separately, Merseyside Police seized Theaker’s mobile phone as part of the sexual assault inquiry. That investigation led to the discovery of two videos shared in a WhatsApp group in 2021, which became the subject of the later gross misconduct proceedings.

Prediction: how this development may affect Merseyside residents

For Merseyside residents, the case is likely to renew attention on how forces handle allegations against serving officers, particularly where criminal conduct and misconduct investigations run in parallel. The fact that Theaker resigned before a misconduct hearing, which then found he would have been dismissed, may increase public scrutiny of resignation procedures and accountability measures.

For survivors of sexual violence, the case may reinforce the importance of preserving evidence where it is safe to do so, while also highlighting the serious psychological impact described in court. The extended sentence, lifetime sex offenders’ register requirement and indefinite restraining order may provide some reassurance that the court treated the offending as posing an ongoing risk.